Learning to Be Joyful, Anyway: A Big Announcement

Learning to Be Joyful, Anyway: A Big Announcement

Joy won't cure you, but it will carry you.

After surviving a stage-four cancer diagnosis, Kate Bowler knew she was supposed to be grateful. Alive. Blessed. But she still ached—for more connection, more surprise, less resentment on an ordinary day.

So she went looking for joy. Not the toxic positivity kind. Not a 5-step plan. But the type that sneaks in unexpectedly, seemingly out of nowhere. A lemur sunbathing. A belly laugh at a funeral. A dive into the Atlantic with a shark wrangler.

In Joyful, Anyway, Bowler takes us on a hilarious and tender journey through big questions and small delights. With wry wit and deep honesty, she explores how joy can surprise us even in the middle of pain, boredom, and longing.

This is not a book about fixing your life. It is about how we can all find more—feel more—by making room for small extraordinary moments. For anyone who has ever felt stuck, who is achy for meaning, who feels undone by loss, who feels that joy is just out of reach, who wants, simply, to have more fun, Joyful Anyway is a delicious, insightful tour through the questions that sit in the deepest part of our souls. It proves that for every time we ask: Is this it? Joy will answer: there is more.

Joyful, Anyway releases on April 7, 2026, but you can pre-order now from all of your favorite retailers.

Check out that gorgeous cover!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episoder(281)

Ari Johnson: More than Enough

Ari Johnson: More than Enough

Sometimes everything is possible. Sometimes nothing is possible. How do you know the difference? Dr. Ari Johnson works to change the infant and mother mortality rates in Mali. Kate and Ari speak about...

3 Des 201931min

Angela Duckworth: Finding the Margins

Angela Duckworth: Finding the Margins

Psychologist Angela Duckworth studies the significance of grit. There are those who experience a difficult circumstance and scrape by, and there are those who thrive in the aftermath. Together, Angela...

19 Nov 201933min

Vivek Murthy: The Loneliness Epidemic

Vivek Murthy: The Loneliness Epidemic

US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy embarked on a listening tour to determine what was ailing Americans. The answer surprised him. In this soulful conversation, he speaks with Kate about loneliness as...

5 Nov 201926min

Jen Hatmaker: The Preacher's Wife

Jen Hatmaker: The Preacher's Wife

Author and speaker Jen Hatmaker ruled the Christian marketplace as the evangelical darling. But when her theology shifted, she learned how harsh the penalties could be. Kate and Jen speak about what i...

22 Okt 201924min

Sister Helen Prejean: The Face of Love

Sister Helen Prejean: The Face of Love

Sister Helen Prejean didn't know what she was getting into when she became pen pals with an inmate on death row, a story told in the film, Dead Man Walking. Now, she's a fierce advocate against the de...

8 Okt 201925min

Nora McInerny: It's Okay to Laugh

Nora McInerny: It's Okay to Laugh

Nora McInerny had a miscarriage, lost her father, and lost her husband all within a few weeks. Much to her surprise, she kept living. But she didn’t “move on.” Nora and Kate discuss how grief is messi...

24 Sep 201933min

Sesame Street: How do we talk to kids about hard things?

Sesame Street: How do we talk to kids about hard things?

How do we prepare our kids for a world we can't always protect them from? Sesame Street creates educational programs to make the most vulnerable among us smarter, stronger, and kinder in the face of d...

13 Aug 201934min

Andrew Solomon: The Stories of Who We Are

Andrew Solomon: The Stories of Who We Are

Writer Andrew Solomon never felt like he fit in. But studying other communities that celebrate differences transformed his sense of belonging and his parenting. Which aspects of our kids should we att...

30 Jul 201930min

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