Everything Happens for a Reason

Posted on 06 August 2017 by Kate Bowler

A divinity professor and young mother with a Stage IV cancer diagnosis explores the pain and joy of living without certainty.Thirty five year old Kate Bowler was a professor at the school of divinity at Duke, and had finally had a baby with her childhood sweetheart after years of trying, when she began to feel jabbing pains in her stomach She lost thirty pounds, chugged antacid, and visited doctors for three months before she was finally diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer.As she navigates the aftermath of her diagnosis, Kate pulls the reader deeply into her life, which is populated with a colorful, often hilarious collection of friends, pastors, parents, and doctors, and shares her laser sharp reflections on faith, friendship, love, and death She wonders why suffering makes her feel like a loser and explores the burden of positivity Trying to relish the time she still has with her son and husband, she realizes she must change her habit of skipping to the end and planning the next move A historian of the American prosperity gospel the creed of the mega churches that promises believers a cure for tragedy, if they just want it badly enough Bowler finds that, in the wake of her diagnosis, she craves these same outrageous certainties She wants to know why it s so hard to surrender control over that which you have no control She contends with the terrifying fact that, even for her husband and child, she is not the lynchpin of existence, and that even without her, life will go on.On the page, Kate Bowler is warm, witty, and ruthless, and, like Paul Kalanithi, one of the talented, courageous few who can articulate the grief she feels as she contemplates her own mortality. Read Everything Happens for a Reason by Kate Bowler – kino-fada.fr Sorry to have to say this, but Everything Happens for a Reason is a mess This short book is a memoir of Kate Bowler s Stage IV colon cancer and how her diagnosis flies in the face of the prosperity gospel the notion espoused by some Christians that as long as you believe in God and think positively, good things will happen for you, and therefore if something bad happens it s kind of your own fault Was Kate Bowler previously a devotee of the prosperity gospel, or was she raised in that tradit Sorry to have to say this, but Everything Happens for a Reason is a mess This short book is a memoir of Kate Bowler s Stage IV colon cancer and how her diagnosis flies in the face of the prosperity gospel the notion espoused by some Christians that as long as you believe in God and think positively, good things will happen for you, and therefore if something bad happens it s kind of your own fault Was Kate Bowler previously a devotee of the prosperity gospel, or was she raised in that tradition Why, no She was raised in the Mennonite tradition She s a professor at Duke divinity school and did her dissertation on the prosperity gospel, so she knows a lot about it, but has no actual personal lived experience with it at all Analyzing a particular area of Christian belief in relation to her cancer might work for a short essay, but it doesn t work for a book length memoir Memoirs are supposed to be pers...I spend my days asking Why Why do people get stuck in poverty Why do mosquitoes spread malariaBeing curious and trying to explain the world around us is part of what makes life interesting It s also good for the world scientific discoveries happen because someone insisted on solving some mystery And it s human nature, as anyone who s fielded an endless series of questions from an inquisitive 5 year old can tell you.But as Kate Bowler shows in her wonderful new memoir, Everything Happens I spend my days asking Why Why do people get stuck in poverty Why do mosquitoes spread malariaBeing curious and trying to explain the world around us is part of what makes life interesting It s also good for the world scientific discoveries happen because someone insisted on solving some mystery And it s human nature, as anyone who s fielded an endless series of questions from an inquisitive 5 year old can tell you.But as Kate Bowler shows in her wonderful new memoir, Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I ve Loved, some why questions can t be answered satisfactorily with facts Bowler was 35 years old, married to her high school sweetheart, and raising their young son when she was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer When...This was the 2018 title I was most looking forward to reading, and it didn t disappoint I devoured it in one day It combines two of my niche interests medical especially cancer memoirs, and the prosperity gospel, a dubious theology I grew up with in the Pentecostal church my parents still attend in America Indeed, Bowler s previous book is a history of the prosperity gospel in America Though she grew up surrounded by the Canadian Mennonite tradition, as she made progress towards becoming This was the 2018 title I was most looking forward to reading, and it didn t disappoint I devoured it in one day It combines two of my niche interests medical especially cancer memoirs, and the prosperity gospel, a dubious theology I grew up with in the Pentecostal church my parents still attend in America Indeed, Bowler s previous book is a history of the prosperity gospel in America Though she grew up surrounded by the Canadian Mennonite tradition, as she made progress towards becoming an assistant professor at Duke Divinity School she was fascinated by prosperity theology the idea that you can claim God s blessings, financial and otherwise, as a reward for righteous behavior and generous giving to the church.If she d ever been tempted to set store by this notion, that certainty was permanently fractured when she was diagno...I started this book in the waiting room at the dentist, which was a mistake, in part because I m always about to cry at the dentist and also because the dentist does not deserve to witness my deep wonder So I did what any reasonable person should and finished this book at home in bed on a slow morning And gosh I m glad my roommates weren t home because I oscillated between an ugly cry and a full belly laugh in the course of like three pages Kate s voice is incisive and thoughtful and honest I started this book in the waiting room at the dentist, which was a mistake, in part because I m always about to cry at the dentist and also because the dentist does not deserve to witness my deep wonder So I did what any reasonable person should and finished this book at home in bed on a slow morning And gosh I m glad my roommates weren t home because I oscillated between an ugly cry and a full belly laugh in the course of like three pages Kate s voice is incisive and thoughtful a...Everything Happens for a Reason And Other Lies I ve Lovedis a propulsive memoir about a young woman s sudden, dramatic diagnosis of stage four cancer after months, possibly years the timeline is fuzzy , of inexplicable symptoms and innumerable, pointless appointments with medical specialists Some might frame a personal narrative like Bowler s in terms of the uncertainty of medical science, reflecting on the imperfection and limitations of humans as diagnosticians and care givers HindsightEverything Happens for a Reason And Other Lies I ve Lovedis a propulsive memoir about a young woman s sudden, dramatic diagnosis of stage four cancer after months, possibly years the timeline is fuzzy , of inexplicable symptoms and innumerable, pointless appointments with medical specialists Some might frame a personal narrative like Bowler s in terms of the uncertainty of medical science, reflecting on the imperfection and limitations of humans as diagnosticians and care givers Hindsight, of course, is 20 20, but it is evident that the many specialists Bowler saw were guilty of the biases and egregious errors in thinking that a number of medical writers, most notably oncologist Jerome Groopman in hisHow Doctors ThinkandYour Medical Mind, have in recent years brought to public attention Some of ....Prior to reading this book, it was recommended to me by one of my good friends We were discussing how we love to believe all the cliches such as Everything happens for a reason Needless to say, I was very excited to read this, and by doing so, this has become my favorite book I read so far Before I start my review, I am going to start of with some of my favorites quotes from the book I wanted to make God to make me good and make me faithful,with just a few shining accolades along the way Prior to reading this book, it was recommended to me by one of my good friends We were discussing how we love to believe all the cliches such as Everything happens for a reason Needless to say, I was very excited to read this, and by doing so, this has become my favorite book I read so far Before I start my review, I am going to start of with some of my favorites quotes from the book I wanted to make God to make me good and make me faithful,with just a few shining accolades along the way Anything would do do if hardship were only detours on my long way life s journey I believed God would make a way I don t believe that any What would it mean for Christians to give up that little piece of the American Dream that says, You are limitless Everything is not possible The mighty Kingdom of...I feel like I get to be honest here I don t have to feel bad for this woman although, I do , but I do feel like I can judge in anon biased view given my own Stage IV diagnosis Every cancer memoir or article that is published is going to influence people s view about our illness, mortality, etc Here s the thing none of us can know what s to come and religion won t tell us the truth To me, she explored and over shared her religion and didn t talk much about anything else This was m I feel like I get to be honest here I don t have to feel bad for this woman although, I do , but I do feel like I can judge in anon biased view given my own Stage IV diagnosis Every cancer memoir or article that is published is going to influence people s view about our illness, mortality, etc Here s the thing none of us ...

English
06 August 2017

Kate Bowler