"Thirty-five-year-old Kate Bowler was a professor at the school of divinity at Duke, and had finally had a baby with her childhood sweetheart after years of trying, when she began to feel jabbing pains in her stomach. She lost thirty pounds, chugged antacid, and visited doctors for three months before she was finally diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer."

A very honest sharing of Kate's journey through a stage 4 cancer diagnosis and how it affected not only her life but also her family and friends too. Cancer affects the whole universe around the sufferer and it was great that someone actually acknowledged this in book form.

Very hard to read in places and not one for a joyful summer's afternoon, unfortunately.

This was a quick read, but not an easy subject to read about. The author has certainly had more than her fair share of medical issues. I was very frustrated to see how dismissive the doctors were of her medical concerns. It was interesting to read about her take on mega churches and their prosperity message. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book by Kate Bowler.

I really enjoyed this book. As someone who nursed someone through terminal cancer I found myself nodding along with some of the stories Bowler told. Thought-provoking and inspiring, I would definitely recommend this book to a friend.

Bad things happen to people sometimes and it is not their fault. Cancer happens to people of all ages, it is a random mutation of cells and people who get cancer did not bring it on themselves. Everything Happens for a Reason is about a Christian woman with stage 4 cancer. Her cancer is terminal. Her community doesn’t necessarily believe that it is not her fault. Surely if she had prayed hard enough she would have been cured? If she were a good and kind person she wouldn’t have developed cancer in the first place. Kate Bowler is so smart and insightful and philosophical and despite the incredible grief that she is going through she is very funny. This book makes me appreciate life so much. Thank goodness I am not living in two month increments. It makes me appreciate my children and their futures (that I plan on being around for). It also has two great appendices - “absolutely never say this to people experiencing terrible times: a short list” and “give this a go, see how it works: a short list.” Everything happens - we don’t know why. This is a quick and moving read that gives a little perspective on what is going on for someone going through a “terrible time”

Thank you Kate Bowler and Net Gallery for the complimentary copy of this book in return for my honest review"

I chose this book as I enjoy reading memoirs and was looking for a memoir of a young mums journey through life changing illness. I was aware that Kate's book had some religious themes, To be honest, I would not have picked up this particular book if I had realised the overarching theme was so heavily religious.

I admired Kate's ability to bring her positivity to the most difficult treatment regimens, something I am not sure I could do in the same situation. I also enjoyed the parts of the memoir where Kate shared her special relationships and some of the amazing people in her life who have rallied around her. The questions her friend raises with her at the end of the book (relating to her expensive self help online course) I thought were beautiful and appeared to help Kate move through a psychologically tough period. These questions also inspired me to see how I can best live in my unknown life span.

I particularly enjoyed the end appendix of questions or ways to support someone which are helpful.

3.5 stars.

I went into this book knowing nothing about Kate and her previous work.

This is a touching story about her life and her fight against stage IV cancer. I could relate to many of her words since I sadly know too many people dealing with serious diseases. But while her feelings and words about cancer resonated very well with me, I found the whole book to be a bit confusing. There is a lot of back and forth between past and present and at times, the whole story feels a bit too confusing.

This book also has a big religious aspect which I didn't expect as I wasn't familiar with the author. And while I would have loved to hear more about her change of perspective since being diagnosed, I feel like this was more of a story of the Prosperity Gospel rather than her own approach to it.

As other reviewers have mentioned, this is a book more about religion than a full-on book about her cancer diagnosis. The one part that I really loved was her list of things to say (and no to say) to someone dealing with a terminal disease.

Overall, this could have been a 4 stars if the story was a bit more structured and followed a clear direction. I also feel like this was a bit too short to get the whole picture of Kate as a person. I would have loved to hear more about how her diagnosis affected her approach to religion, friendships and her own relatiosnhip with her husband and son.

I received this book from the editor but this doesn't affect my review.

Kate Bowler writes with an unvarnished style about her experiences with cancer. She is honest, accepting that while God is powerful and loving, He is also at times inexplicable. There are no trite and easy answers to suffering, and Kate explores what it means to be on the receiving end of Christians who are looking for sound-bite answers to a God of mystery. The book reads like a yarn from an old friend. Kate also writes with an elegance and lightness. The book is funny and heart-breaking. It is hard to put down, and is an excellent guidebook to those who love people experiencing cancer.

Such a fabulous read, I whizzed through it in one go on a train journey, The author is funny and interesting and manages to talk about her faith in such a lovely way, as well as other more 'out there' ways of practicing which she is very respectful of, though many wouldn't be. I wish her well and would recommend you read her book!