In 2018 (coincidentally, the year I received an unfortunate medical diagnosis), I happened to read Kate Bowler’s Everything Happens For A Reason (And Other Lies I’ve Loved). It hit me at just the right time, as her ability to describe the experience of battling cancer helped me face my own journey. Described as a “Christian Joan Didion,” prior to her diagnosis, Bowler had a successful career as professor at Duke Divinity School specializing in the study of the prosperity gospel. This basically sees good fortune as direct evidence of being blessed by God and misfortune as a mark of God’s disapproval.  I was pleased to receive a copy of her followup book No Cure For Being Human (And Other Truths I’ve Needed to Hear), thanks to Random House and NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review. 

Ms. Bowler had always believed that a person’s life was comprised of a limitless series of choices, but then she received her diagnosis…so was this evidence of her being out of favor with God? (TBH I am neither a Christian nor a believer, but I read everything, especially recently as I have read more and more books about cancer in particular and wellness in general, with an open mind). 

For years, she had believed that the perfect life was just out of reach, and that hard work and God’s approval would make it happen. Once she was sick, she had to grapple not only with her disease but also with the advice industry, with its endless focus on positivity and the belief that if god is  smiling down on us it would allow us to somehow overcome our humanness. (Spoiler alert: it’s not possible).

Everyone with a serious illness has to deal with their limitations and challenges. Bowler’s bottom line is acceptance of the fact that we need one another, that life is both beautiful and terrible, and that there really is no cure for being human. For me, it wasn’t the terrific experience that reading her previous book was…but that could be where I am in my own health journey. She is still funny, open, honest, willing to be vulnerable, and inspirational. Three stars (which is probably unfair).