Book Review: Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I Love by Kate Bowler

 

Kate Bowler’s book, Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I Love was one of the first books I read this year. I gave it five stars though I felt it was a bit disjointed with the storytelling.

Moving on. I soaked in the uncertainties of life through Kate’s  journey of a diagnosis of stave IV colon cancer at the tender age of 35. She’s a history professor (theology) at Duke University, married to her high school sweetheart and has a darling two-year old son. There are many characters in this story, all very endearing, even the grumpy physicians. They were a perfect combination of family friends and colleagues surrounding a woman facing the end of her life with unconditional love, honesty and much humor. I felt a kindness in my heart for all of them. 

We ask why when things happen to us, this memoir reaches past the why and heads straight into what do I do, how hard do I live, how much love can I spend, and to whom, where do I go, how to I do it all the while working, navigating the health care system and traveling weekly for experimental cancer treatments.

We don’t know how we will spend our time left when a raw, violent diagnosis is handed to us, a death sentence, but Kate Bowler gives us a tiny blueprint, whether you believe in God or not (she is a Christian, a history professor in theology and has a few books on the subject) but you won’t feel inundated for salvation, that’s not what this book is about.  It’s about uncertainty and dealing with it smacked up in our face with nowhere to run.

I recommend it and will keep the five stars. I won’t forget her story any time soon so that alone, makes it a beloved book for me. Plus, I took notes, another five-star check mark. Lots of notes  and I have  them marked under “terrible diagnosis” in my journal. You know, for when that uncertainty is a certainty but not really.

I listened to this on Audible  - Kate Bowler narrates beautifully. 

Cheryl

Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson

I cannot write a review for this book. I can tell you what the book is about but it's one of those rare gems you must read for yourself. It's about mental illness told humorously, sometimes with sadness, by Jenny Lawson, "The Bloggess" as most of us know her. It's a book about being happy even when you are broken. Chronically broken. And no one can explain this journey better than the author.

My suggestion? To know all things Jenny Lawson.  Go to her blog:    http://thebloggess.com/

Pick through the blogs, get to know her, the type of language as well as her inside stories a bit. You do not have to inundate yourself with reading a ton of the blogs, pick through, it's an easy task. But don't let "easy task" fool you. Jenny Lawson is a very complicated person. That's why she is so loved.

And then run out and get yourself  "Lets Pretend This Never Happened."  Lawson's first book, a memoir. You will laugh your way through her life story. Even if you skip over the blog, I recommend this book to be read first. And not in public. Don't say you weren't warned. 

Sometimes it takes a bit of a hike backward to read a new book, readers know that but Furiously Happy stands alone nicely. It's your choice as a reader in how much time you want to invest.

You will never be as funny as Jenny Lawson,  nor as creative and certainly not as enchanting. She opened  up her life to readers and they have found a real gem. I hope you do as well.

Buy both books.

Hide both books and do not lend them out. 

You will never see them again.

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Nina Sankovitch

I was so happy to get this book in the mail. I could not wait for B and N to send it to me and when it arrived it was like Christmas! *note; I wrote this review in another blog in 2012

When is getting a book in the mail not like Christmas? 

Nina Sankovitch lost her sister who was 46, to bile duct cancer. Sankovitch then started a journey of being incredibly busy so she would forget all the bad things. Until she decided that memories are the most poignant part of moving on.

In this discovery and now self set upon journey, Sankovitch devoted herself to read a book a day for a year.  She reads books. From Tolstoy to Barberry to Buechner. Each book, whether it's your genre or not makes one yearn to go out and buy every author she reads.

There are constraints, after all, she has four boys and a husband and a very busy life, but she tackles this 365  book a day with much vigor. This becomes a life line to move through (not around) her grief of the loss of her beautiful sister, Anne-Marie.

Every day she devotes a day to a book. She writes about the book itself, which is wonderful  and she has a list at the end which is something to copy and tuck into your wallet or purse for future book shopping dates. I felt her grief through her stories with each book she read and I appreciated how she mixed the world of books in with her grief to carry on. 

Sankavitch also tells stories about her immigrant parents and World War II, her own life and happenings.  It is blistering honesty that makes one see books (she believes fiction is truth, so do I) as a way to connect to memories of all those around us in all situations to place balm on the wound of death with much truth.

Also, if you like to read about people who love books, you will find comfort, solace, and hope in her quest.  Her blog www.readallday.org/  is a great site to bookmark on your smart phone or tablet, as when you are in the bookstore you can manage the reviews easily ( she read almost every genre) and find the book you want from her list. 

She finds it incredulous that we still go on after death. And now I think she understands why.

Enjoy or just "heal" while you read this book while you have your own memories to explore.

I highly recommend this book. Buy it. You will treasure it forever.