Everything Happens for a Reason Audiobook By Kate Bowler cover art

Everything Happens for a Reason

And Other Lies I've Loved

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime
Try for $0.00
More purchase options

Everything Happens for a Reason

By: Kate Bowler
Narrated by: Kate Bowler
Try for $0.00

$8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $13.50

Buy for $13.50

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A meditation on sense-making when there’s no sense to be made, on letting go when we can’t hold on, and on being unafraid even when we’re terrified.”—Lucy Kalanithi

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY REAL SIMPLE

Kate Bowler is a professor at Duke Divinity School with a modest Christian upbringing, but she specializes in the study of the prosperity gospel, a creed that sees fortune as a blessing from God and misfortune as a mark of God’s disapproval. At thirty-five, everything in her life seems to point toward “blessing.” She is thriving in her job, married to her high school sweetheart, and loves life with her newborn son.

Then she is diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer.

The prospect of her own mortality forces Kate to realize that she has been tacitly subscribing to the prosperity gospel, living with the conviction that she can control the shape of her life with “a surge of determination.” Even as this type of Christianity celebrates the American can-do spirit, it implies that if you “can’t do” and succumb to illness or misfortune, you are a failure. Kate is very sick, and no amount of positive thinking will shrink her tumors. What does it mean to die, she wonders, in a society that insists everything happens for a reason? Kate is stripped of this certainty only to discover that without it, life is hard but beautiful in a way it never has been before.

Frank and funny, dark and wise, Kate Bowler pulls the reader deeply into her life in an account she populates affectionately with a colorful, often hilarious retinue of friends, mega-church preachers, relatives, and doctors. Everything Happens for a Reason tells her story, offering up her irreverent, hard-won observations on dying and the ways it has taught her to live.

Praise for Everything Happens for a Reason

“I fell hard and fast for Kate Bowler. Her writing is naked, elegant, and gripping—she’s like a Christian Joan Didion. I left Kate’s story feeling more present, more grateful, and a hell of a lot less alone. And what else is art for?”—Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love Warrior and president of Together Rising Death & Grief Christian Living Biographies & Memoirs Heartfelt Inspiring Scary Christianity Witty Medical Funny Professionals & Academics
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c

Critic reviews

“A meditation on sense-making when there’s no sense to be made, on letting go when we can’t hold on, and on being unafraid even when we’re terrified. And it happens to be hilarious. Above all, though, this is a love letter to life, and it’s gorgeous.”—Lucy Kalanithi, MD, FACP, clinical assistant professor of medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine

“I fell hard and fast for Kate Bowler. Her writing is naked, elegant, and gripping—she’s like a Christian Joan Didion. I left Kate’s story feeling more present, more grateful, and a hell of a lot less alone. And what else is art for? Everything Happens for a Reason is art in its highest form, and Kate Bowler is a true artist—with the pen, and with her life.”—Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love Warrior and president of Together Rising

“[Bowler’s] dry humor and raw, personal accounts help make thinking about our common fate bearable.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Bowler’s lovely prose and sharp wit capture her struggle to find continued joy after her [stage IV cancer] diagnosis. This poignant look at the unpredictable promises of faith will amaze readers.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A page-turner of lasting force . . . Bowler wields a sharp pen, one that flows seamlessly through comic terrain, pausing for laugh-out-loud one-liners . . . as it probes death and dying young with aching poignancy.”—Chicago Tribune

“This is a beautifully written, intelligent, soulful book, necessary reading for all of us who long to walk faithfully and honestly through the darkest and most desolate of seasons.”—Shauna Niequist, New York Times bestselling author of Present Over Perfect

“The Kate Bowler you will come to know in this book is 100 percent real: honest, brave, holy, ridiculous, profane, hilarious, human—her fierce and beautiful words will make you ugly-cry and laugh out loud inappropriately in public places, and they will make you long for the courage to tell the truth about your life.”—Amy K. Butler, senior minister, The Riverside Church

“[Bowler] delivers raw emotion, realistic description, and candid assessments . . . An inspiring story of finding faith—in God, in family, and in oneself—while walking close to the Valley of the Shadow of Death.”—Kirkus Reviews
Raw Honesty • Thought-provoking Content • Authentic Narration • Heartfelt Vulnerability • Insightful Perspective

Highly rated for:

All stars
Most relevant

Would you consider the audio edition of Everything Happens for a Reason to be better than the print version?

Odd question, did not read the book however hearing this book from Kates tender voice is to experience Kate as she is a wife, a mom, a daughter a friend, a person of painful truths.

What other book might you compare Everything Happens for a Reason to and why?

Her book is unique.

Which scene was your favorite?

how can an undesirable life changing event have a favorite moment? these questions are mostly inappropriate for this particular audible book. fine if I had to say , it would be Kate giving herself permission to use curse words promising God she will stop after lent. Good luck with that Kate. seriously WTF.......

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

the whole book was moving. Kates transparency

Any additional comments?

"Aging is a F@#$%!ing privilege".

A plus /smiley face, Kate will understand this....

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Kate brought humor to a time in my life that followed a life changing diagnosis. In a world where young adults with cancer seem nonexistent, Kate seems to get inside your own mind and put into words what you haven’t been able to, providing validation to what you’ve been feeling and thinking. An incredibly well written piece.

Appropriate humor in a time of sadness...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
poignant and at times difficult to hear because it was so raw and real but a lot of it resonated with me after the death of my daughter. grateful I listened

glad I read it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I could not put this book down! I loved her truthfulness and candid conversation about everyone's good intentions and her fear of never seeing her son again. I am rethinking a lot of things and willing to try some new things.

Truthful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I love this book! Kate articulated pain and hope so well. The tension that coexists inside us. Heavy with truth and light love. A fun book and a must read!

A story for the hurt & healed

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews