Book Review: Everything Happens for a Reason by Kate Bowler

This was supposed to be posted last week, I actually read the book very early in the week (it is quite short) and decided to get a head-start on the next one (Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson, it is quite long, the review will be a bit late). I heard about Everything Happens for a Reason: and other lies I’ve loved from Bill Gates’ 5 books worth reading this summer. The author, Kate Bowler, is a religious historian at Duke University’s School of Divinity; she did her doctoral thesis on the history of the Prosperity Gospel in America. This book is about how grappling with a terminal diagnosis changed her faith.The book was short, and doesn’t have a conclusive ending. I think the author might still be going through treatment. Being short made it a good read: if it had been a really long account of how much of an ordeal the author was going through, it would have been pretty harrowing. The author’s writing was easy to read, and I really liked the way that she was able to talk about how she came to see the holes in the Prosperity Gospel for what they are, without getting negative about people – a very respectful way to deal with the topic.I think the overall gist of the book is that when people are struggling they need to be loved. They don’t need people to try and reason “why” they are sick, etc. They just need to be loved. Truth.The next book review will probably take a little longer, so we’re going to be behind schedule for a while. Perhaps I’ll find a short non-fiction to read and review on a flight sometime soon.