Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved

Kate Bowler's cancer diagnosis when she was a young mother came as a shock. As a professor of theology who studies the Prosperity Gospel and its adherents, it also put her directly in the path of some of the toxic messages American society, and in particular some evangelical communities, send to people suffering adversity. Her memoir is a readable and somewhat lighthearted (given the topic) story about how she grappled with her illness amid the cognitive dissonance.

I read this for a book club.

It was good, helped me to think that there isn't always a silver lining

Reading this book as part of my church's bookathon 2020 ... I grabbed this book for two reasons – The title and the length. I am glad that I got the opportunity to read it. The author, prior to getting a diagnosis of Stage IV colon cancer, wrote her master's thesis on “prosperity gospel.” Her response to her diagnosis is shaped by the whole idea of the prosperity gospel. If you are good – good things happen to you. It is a thought process that even affects Non-Christians. This memoir make you think about what you expect from life and why you expect it. One thing she says several times is “life is so beautiful and life is so hard”. In this world of social media reflecting just the shiny parts of life, we forget that sometimes it's not so shiny. It is important to remember it isn't our fault when it doesn't shine. I strongly recommend this book!

One of my favorite quotes from the book -
“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 God is not yet here. What if ‘rich' did not have to mean ‘wealthy', and ‘whole' did not have to mean ‘healed'? What if being the people of “the gospel” meant that we are simply people with good news? God is here. We are loved. It is enough.”

After reading the book I found her TED talk – so good...

https://www.ted.com/talks/kate_bowler_everything_happens_for_a_reason_and_other_lies_i_ve_loved?language=en

It was not the story I anticipated.

[review later]