Kate Bowler

In A Nutshell

Diagnosed with Stage IV cancer at age 35, Duke Divinity professor Kate Bowler is reexamining her perspective on the "prosperity gospel" -- the belief that good things happen to good people.

About Kate

After being diagnosed with Stage IV cancer at age 35, Duke tenured professor and author Kate Bowler launched a national conversation about why it feels so difficult to speak frankly about suffering. She delves into how we live and cope with pain and suffering in Everything Happens for a Reason (and other lies I’ve loved), a NYT bestselling memoir, and in her popular podcast, Everything Happens. She is also the author of Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel, which received widespread media and academic attention as the first history of a movement based on divine promises of health, wealth, and happiness. She has appeared on NPR and The TODAY Show, Amanpour & CO, as well as in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and TIME Magazine. Her work has also been praised by a wide variety of religious and political publications, from liberal print media to conservative talk radio.

Learn More

Everything Happens for a Reason (and Other Lies I've Loved). Random House. 2018.

The Everything Happens Podcast: In warm, insightful, often funny conversations, Kate Bowler talks with people about what they've learned in dark times.

Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel. Oxford. 2013.

“What to Say When You Meet the Angel of Death at a Party.” The New York Times. 2018.

“Death, The Prosperity Gospel, and Me.” The New York Times. 2016.

Q&A with Kate Bowler on the TEDMED Blog.