Kate Bowler

Last updated
Kate Bowler
Born1980 (age 4344)
London, England
NationalityCanadian
SpouseToban Penner (m. c.2002)
Academic background
Alma mater
Thesis Blessed (2010)

Kate Bowler (born 1980) is a Canadian academic and writer from Winnipeg, Manitoba. [1] Bowler is currently an associate professor of the history of Christianity in North America at Duke Divinity School. [2]

Contents

Career

Bowler is the author of Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel (Oxford University Press, 2013). [3] She then wrote Everything Happens for a Reason (and Other Lies I've Loved) (Random House, 2018), [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] which was a New York Times hardcover nonfiction best seller. [11]

Her third book, The Preacher’s Wife: The Precarious Power of Evangelical Women Celebrities (Princeton Press, 2019) [12] follows the rise of celebrity Christian women in American evangelicalism. On her popular podcast, Everything Happens , Kate speaks with people like Malcolm Gladwell, [13] Beth Moore, [14] Archbishop of Cantebury Justin Welby, [15]   and Anne Lamott [16] about what wisdom and truth they’ve uncovered during difficult circumstances. [17]

In her bestselling memoir, No Cure For Being Human (and Other Truths I Need to Hear)(Penguin, 2021), Kate grapples with her diagnosis, her ambition, and her faith as she tries to come to terms with limitations in a culture that promises anything is possible. Kate has also written a devotional with her producer, Jessica Richie, which is called Good Enough: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection (Random House, 2022). [18] [19] Kate and Jessica’s latest book is called The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days (Random House, Random House Canada, 2023). [20] [21]

Early life and education

Bowler was born in 1980 [22] in London, [23] where her father was pursuing a PhD in history at King's College London. [24] She spent most of her childhood in Winnipeg, Manitoba and received her Bachelor of Arts at Macalester College in St Paul, Minnesota, and her Master of Arts in Religion at Yale Divinity School. She completed her PhD at Duke University which focuses on the history of prosperity gospel in the United States. [25]

Raised by parents who worked in academia and with a research interest in Father Christmas, her family had a strong tradition of celebrating Christmas. [24]

Personal life

Bowler married Toban Penner, her high school classmate, in 2002. Together they have a son, Zach. [17]

In 2015, she was diagnosed with stage IV cancer with no family history of cancer. [17] Her memoir, Everything Happens for a Reason (and Other Lies I've Loved), was published in 2018, and the book was listed as hardcover nonfiction best seller on New York Times for 5 weeks. [11]

Writings

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References

  1. "5 Questions with Kate Bowler". Mennotoba. February 6, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  2. "Kate Bowler Duke Divinity Faculty Profile" . Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  3. Evans, Curtis, J. (October 2014). "Book Review of 'Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel'". The Journal of Religion. 94 (4): 559–561. doi:10.1086/679212.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. Evans, Elizabeth Eisenstadt (February 19, 2018). "Kate Bowler's 'Everything Happens for a Reason': Love stands up to terror, suffering". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  5. Mahany, Barbara. "'Everything Happens for a Reason' and more reviewed in this week's spiritual book roundup". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  6. "EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON And Other Lies I've Loved". Kirkus Reviews. November 13, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  7. Dilley, Andrea Palpant (December 21, 2017). "Kate Bowler: I Reject the Prosperity Gospel but I Still Crave What It Promises". Christianity Today. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  8. "Nonfiction Book Review: Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I've Loved by Kate Bowler. Random House, $26 (208p) ISBN 978-0-399-59206-5". Publishers Weekly. December 11, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  9. "What Not To Say To The Terminally Ill: 'Everything Happens For A Reason'". NPR.org. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  10. "Kate Bowler's story of coping with cancer and how it changed her faith". TODAY.com. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  11. 1 2 "New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction Bestseller for the week of 4-15-2018". The New York Times. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  12. Bowler, Kate (October 1, 2019). The Preacher's Wife. Princeton University Press. ISBN   978-0-691-17961-2.
  13. Candace says. "Can People Change?". Kate Bowler. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  14. "Beth Moore: Back To The Beginning". Kate Bowler. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  15. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby: Suspicious of Joy, May 3, 2022, retrieved March 21, 2023
  16. Anne Lamott: Loved and Chosen, March 2, 2021, retrieved March 21, 2023
  17. 1 2 3 Bowler, Kate. "Everything Happens". Everything Happens. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  18. Tell Me More with Kelly Corrigan | Kate Bowler | Season 3 | Episode 8 | PBS , retrieved March 21, 2023
  19. America, Good Morning. "Best of GMA3: Faith Friday: Author Kate Bowler discusses her book, 'Good Enough'". Good Morning America. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  20. America, Good Morning. "Faith Friday: Author Kate Bowler speaks on living with more gratitude". Good Morning America. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  21. "Press Room". Kate Bowler. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  22. The preacher's wife: The precarious power of evangelical women celebrities. Princeton University Press. 2019. ISBN   9780691179612.
  23. Bowler, Kate (2018). Everything happens for a reason : and other lies I've loved. New York. ISBN   978-0-399-59206-5. OCLC   1002043568.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  24. 1 2 Bowler, Kate (December 24, 2018). "Why Christmas is Not Lent" . Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  25. Bowler, Kate. (2013). Blessed : a history of the American prosperity gospel. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-982770-1. OCLC   841172074.