Kate Bowler wins Christopher for Everything Happens for a Reason

Durham, N.C.-based author Kate Bowler, PhD, will receive a Christopher Award for Everything Happens For a Reason (and Other Lies I’ve Loved),” (Random House). It is one of 11 books for adults and young people to be honored on May 23rd at the 70th annual Christopher Awards in New York. The Christophers will also recognize creators of 9 feature films and TV/Cable programs.

Dr. Bowler wrote Everything Happens for a Reason after being unexpectedly diagnosed with Stage IV cancer at age 35. She said that the book “tells the story of my struggle to understand the personal and intellectual dimensions of the American belief that all tragedies are tests of character.” Through her podcast, “Everything Happens,” she staged a national conversation around why it felt so difficult to speak frankly about suffering.

Dr. Bowler, an associate professor of the history of Christianity in North America at Duke Divinity School, completed her undergraduate degree at Macalester College, St. Paul, Minn., received a Master of Arts in Religion from Yale Divinity School, and a PhD at Duke University. She is the author of Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel, the first history of the movement based on divine promises of health, wealth, and happiness.

The Christopher Awards were created in 1949 to celebrate authors, illustrators, writers, producers and directors whose work “affirms the highest values of the human spirit.” A nonprofit organization founded in 1945 by Maryknoll Father James Keller, it is rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition of service to God and humanity. The ancient Chinese proverb—“It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness”— guides its publishing, radio, and awards programs. Visit www.christophers.org for more information.