I always appreciate Kate Bowler's realism--life is hard, no need to sugar-coat it. But she tempers that with good friends and family, hard work, faith, and happiness. Her narration of her cancer is harsh, but besides the crying I was also laughing and appreciating the very real portrayals of the people in her life--doctors, family, colleagues, friends. And I love her practical tips at the end in the Appendix, the "instead of this cliche, try this reality". I find those so helpful. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I love Kate Bowler. I love her podcast and this book is very much along the same line, except we get to hear more of her story. Kate writes so honestly. As a fellow Mennonite who is from Winnipeg I very much appreciated all of her Manitoba references. Kate is very relatable and this book has potential to make you laugh out loud, and weep. Highly recommend!

I have been a fan of Kate Bowler for a while now, and this book is just as good as her other writing. Kate was diagnosed with cancer at age 35, and this is sort of a memoir of her journey through that, but with lots of wisdom and insight along the way. One of the things that I really like about Kate's writing is that she is a person of faith, but she is also real about what that means to her and the questions that she has about it.

Kate Bowler takes an honest look at what it means to really "live" life as she faces her cancer diagnosis. She's not one to mince words and doesn't shy away from the struggles she faces in her relationships as she moves through the clinical trials in an effort to reclaim a future for herself. While Bowler is a professor at Duke Divinity School, this book doesn't refer to her beliefs too often, rarely speaking about heaven, hell and eternal life. Instead, she focuses on her life here - her son, her husband, family and friends - and her concerns about the legacy she'll leave behind.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Enjoyed reading this book. Kate Bowlers book provides a easy to read, insightful memoir about her life with cancer after diagnosis and how she dealt with it

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 life and time, relationships and perspective.

The strength of this book is how relatable she is. Any type-A, goal-oriented person will understand the abject terror of being told that the life you’ve always controlled and directed is now running fast down a track you didn’t choose. But this is also my greatest disappointment, in that the author is a professor of religion, but seems at all times to be acting as her own god, turning again and again to her own powers in order to regain some sense of control.

Her account of what she learned about clinical drug trials makes this book important for anyone considering this path - the distinctions she draws are surprising, raw, and not at all what one hopes. And yet reality rather than fantasy is an important theme throughout these pages.

I’m of mixed opinion, but will say that for anyone who things this might be for you, it’s worth a try. I suspect many will find it helpful and informative.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book.

Kate's writing is stunning. If you haven't read her first memoir, "Everything Happens for a Reason (and other lies I've loved)," stop right now and pick up a copy. It's a keeper.

"No Cure for Being Human" is her second memoir that digs even deeper to questions about meaning, suffering, existing as a human in a finite body. I stopped to reread passages more than once, as her thoughts provoked my own questions and tender places. The realness with which she shares her experience and asks difficult questions is disarming and alluring. This is one of those books you highlight something on nearly every page, full of wisdom and depth.

I was honored to have Kate as my professor for Church History back in seminary. It was before her cancer diagnosis, and we were her first class she taught after having her son, Zach. So much of that class was memorable, not only for the creative ways she covered the content, but her clear delight in the fun side of life. Years and chemo treatments later, that perspective may have shifted but has not disappeared. Kate somehow holds together deep grief and levity in a way I wouldn't have thought possible.

This a book to be savored; to share with a close friend; to journal. "No Cure for Being Human" is one of the most honest & insightful books I've ever read.

Thank you to Kate Bowler, Random House, and netgalley.com for access to this free advanced review copy. This review is voluntary and thoughts are my own.

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.

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 knows.

So she’s left with living with uncertainty while still trying to maintain purpose and hope and connection. And that she does triumphantly, with wit and bracing truth.

I read this story greedily, wondering how she makes peace with finitude. There are no pat answers. Sharing the questions is what makes Kate’s new book so apt for all of us. Sometimes, she says, life can only be lived in segments, like the three months between scans that tell if treatment is shrinking her tumors. Or a stolen afternoon swim with her son.

I wept and cheered and wept again as I read, so taken with Kate’s humor, candor and personhood. She’s a wonder and so is her wise, heartbreaking, and ever inspirational book.

5 of 5 Stars
Pub Date 28 Sep 2021
#NoCureForBeingHuman #NetGalley

Thanks to the author, Random House Publishing Group - Random House, and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

…these are the choices I’ve made. The people I’ve loved….
Kate Bowler reminds us life is a limited period of time, choose well how you spend it. Learn what is important and forgive yourself for the times you haven’t.
This is one of the most perfect books I have ever read. I’m thankful it crossed my reading path and have and will continue to share it with all I know. Her podcast too!!