At 35, Kate Bowler was happily married, mother of a toddler, Duke Divinity School associate professor, and a highly respected author. She felt blessed and that life would continue to bring good things. Until she was diagnosed with incurable colon cancer and life as she knew it screeched to a halt. In her latest, No Cure for Being Human (and Other Truths I Need to Hear), Kate considers life six years on. Yes, she is still alive but how long will experimental treatment keep her that way? No one kn...

Q:Some are written by spiritual guides promising to reveal God’s single plan and purpose for my life. “Trust God and the path will reveal itself.” Other books call for wild action. There are oceans to plumb and mountains to climb and planes to exit midair. (c)Q:...my darling, I am a clock, and I am ticking loudly. (c)Warning: never ever attempt reading this book in a public place if you find yourself emotional / going through difficult shit in your life / are/get easily triggered / etc or you co...

I was a little afraid to read this because Kate is my friend and I was worried I wouldn't like it since inspirational memoir isn't always for me but I absolutely adored it and wanted to buy it for everyone I know. Stunning and moving and real. Go preorder it.

I'm a big fan of Kate Bowler's podcast, Everything Happens, and knew this was a book I needed to read. While there are a few religious overtones here and there (I'm not one to read religiously based books), I don't think that should keep anyone from reading it. Overall this book is about being a human in a world that can make you go through some incredibly hard things, something we've all been dealing with for the past almost two years. It was a balm for my weary soul that I desperately needed r...

Kate Bowler truly is a remarkable writer. This book, which follows her diagnosis, recovery, and prognosis with a rare form of colon cancer (14 percent survival rate, two years to live) isn't one where she makes the reader feel sorry for her, but more you feel scared for her and makes you question things. A professor at Duke's Divinity School, Bowler touches upon religion and the spiritual, but not enough to make me shirk and certainly makes you wonder and ask "why?" She's a mother of a toddler a...

Memoir of a young cancer patient and how the aftermath of so many procedures and treatments has taken her to a whole new territory. The fear of knowing she's on uncertain ground (she's in 'indefinite' remission) has made her face a lot of existential questions.It's a fascinating account of facing death/life with no glib answers.

This was a tough one to review, because in other circumstances I would say that this memoir reads as if the author did not have enough distance - emotionally or chronologically - to sort through her experiences and craft them into a book. I kept thinking that she might feel differently about certain things if given a bit more time. But of course, the lack of time is the entire point in this book, the second memoir by the author about her cancer diagnosis and all the questions it raised about lif...

A beautiful, candid, insightful memoir (not available until September). I love the work of Kate Bowler—both her book Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved and her podcast Everything Happens.

I am not familiar with the author and only came across this book as one of my fellow Goodreads friends had reviewed it. What a perfect book at the perfect time. Kate Bowler is the first author to touch upon this ever touchy subject with honesty, integrity, and faith. No Cure for Being Human is a book that shares the very intimate journey of Kate Bowler and her diagnosis with Stage 4 Colon Cancer. With only two years to live, she decides to tell her story. I lost my father to cancer and am curren...

The focus of this memoir is on the author’s life subsequent to her being diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer at age 35. Her naivety at the beginning of this journey is indicated by her first question after being informed of the diagnosis, “How many stages are there?” She brings the readers along with her as she researches the medical reports with the persistence of an experienced researcher. Unfortunately, her experience is researching church history which isn’t so much help when it comes to med...

Kate, can we be friends?So honest and raw and so meaningful to me. I have tears in my eyes and can’t help but feel lifted up in hope and peace.

It’s everything you imagine a Kate Bowler book will be. Life lets us down sometimes, but Kate hasn’t yet. My god, she’s good.

Kate Bowler doesn't mince words about life and death. I loved how starkly honest and true her words rang as she recounts her struggles with "being human" and having a body that tried to kill her via cancer in her 30s. It's raw, funny, and inspiring in the best way. No platitudes here, but some real truth and love. Highly recommended.

Kate Bowler’s writing is engaging and beautiful. This second memoir was an enjoyable read. I did struggle to follow the narrative and the theme and would have enjoyed a more focused critique of the self-help literature from the perspective of her experiences if that is indeed a focus of the book. I also struggled with some of her perspectives on the problems with self-help because her experiences don’t match my own: I think that one perspective on self-help is missing from this book, namely that...

Well, my words will be inadequate for the beauty that this book is. Sharing her journey through stage 4 cancer, Kate is the friend who lays it all bare with honesty, humor and so much humanity. Did it make me ugly cry? Yes!Did I feel hopeful while reading it? Yes!Do I need everyone else to read this one now? Yes!If toxic positivity, prosperity gospel and culture of striving are on your list of pet peeves/I’ll take a pass, then this will be a breath of fresh air to you as well.

Summary: A follow-up memoir-ish book about what it is like to shift from dealing with the active grief of a cancer diagnosis to an ongoing chronic illness that may at any time be fatal. Kate Bowler's earlier book, Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I Loved, deserves all the praise it has recieved. I had followed her podcast and story and was aware of her earlier academic book on the history of the American prosperity gospel (I bought it nearly four years ago, but I still haven't rea...

It's very hard to review memoirs since it feels like evaluating someone's life somehow. Evaluation isn't my intention. I simply want to write down how the book affected me at this point in my life. This story explores what it means to be human in the terms of a devastating diagnosis. I'm guessing that it might resonate most with those who have gone through similar circumstances. It's sad, scary, and rings very true. I liked it, but found some parts confusing. On the one hand, the author writes s...

There was nothing wrong with this book other than the fact that I thought it would be very different than what it was. I read her first book all about her cancer diagnosis and journey, so I was surprized that she wrote a second book on the same theme. I really hope she has beaten what took so much from both her body and life.

Gosh, this was a tough, but ultimately, uplifting read. Bowler is open and honest about her experiences with stage 4 colon cancer. Very reflective, and at times terrifying, yet her dark humor and quick wit reiterate what an effective defense/coping mechanism maintaining a sense of humor can be. Bowler thoughtfully touches on faith, ambitions and limitations, and generally being freaking human.

I'm not even sure what to say about this book. While I loved the author's writing style ... I was often put off by a cynical energy of resentment that seemed to infuse the wise, candid and transparent content. I can't quite put my finger on it ... but ... I feel like I must be missing the less obvious points somehow. I'm not sure. It left me feeling heavy and powerless and somewhat discouraged. While life is trying and exhausting and full of suffering in myriad ways for all of us ... I heard her...