No Cure for Being Human by Kate Bowler–Book Review

I ordered this book from my local library because of another book by the same author that I really enjoyed (Good Enough by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie–Book Review). In this memoir, Kate walks us through her experience of being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer at the age of 35. It deals with the issues of suffering, pain and the seemingly random events that cause them.

All of us are living with uncertainty, but most of the time, we choose to ignore it. We meander along, day by day, behaving as if our life will last forever and nothing much will change. Having a life-threatening disease reveals the absurdity of our assumptions. Will this be my last Christmas? My last birthday? Will my young son remember me? What’s more important — my accomplishments or my relationships? These are the kinds of questions the author asks herself as she navigates her health crisis.

Kate survives, but her perspective has changed. She now realizes that in light of our mortality, the question is “how do we live now?” Each of us is living in the space between a past that is over, and a future that is uncertain. We must learn to accept that with courage, doing what is possible today. The promise of eternal life always gives us hope, but when it comes to our life here and now, we will never feel finished.

At the end there is an appendix listing some of the cliches we often hear to explain suffering, and along with what the author has experienced as the more complicated truth.

VERDICT: 4 STARS. This is an easy and inspiring read.

For more spiritual memoirs see:

Where the Light Fell by Philip Yancey–Book Review

Jesus, My Father, the CIA and Me by Ian Morgan Cron–Book Review

Suffer Strong by Katherine & Jay Wolf–Book Review

Prayer in the Night by Tish Harrison Warren–Book Review

Keep watch, dear Lord,
with those who work, or watch, or weep this night;
and give Your Angels charge over those who sleep.
Tend the sick, give rest to the weary.
Sustain the dying, calm the suffering,
and pity the distressed;
all for Your love’s sake, O Christ our Redeemer.
Amen.
– Book of Common Prayer

Author Tish Warren uses the nighttime prayer from the Service of Compline to walk through the dark times we all experience. Her own dark year included two miscarriages, a move to a new city, and the unexpected death of her father. In a time of grief and vulnerability, repeating this prayer was a comfort and a source of strength. Although some people scoff at liturgical prayers (other peoples’ prayers) and consider them less authentic, Ms. Warren makes a case for using them. She says:

“During that difficult year, I didn’t know how to hold to both God and the awful reality of human vulnerability. What I found was the prayers and practices of the church that allowed me to hold to –or rather to be held by–God when little else seemed sturdy, to hold to the Christian story even when I found no satisfying answers.”

Each chapter is centered around one section of the prayer– for example, “Keep Watch, ” “Those Who Weep,” “Bless the Dying.” This leads to an examination of the theological struggle we often face, how can God be all-powerful even as horrible things happen to us and to the world?” This “problem of pain” is called theodicy, and it often leads to a true crisis of faith.

There is no pat answer. God does not always rescue us. In the end, Tish Warren quotes this statement from Tim Keller:

“If you ask …. Why does God allow evil and suffering to continue?… and we look at the cross of Jesus, we still do not know what the answer is. However, we know what the answer isn’t. It can’t be that he doesn’t love us.”

There are discussion questions and some suggested practices at the end. This could easily be used for journaling, or as a small group resource.

You can read more about Tish Harrison Warren and find a number of versions of the Compline service at tishharrisonwarren.com.

VERDICT: 5 STARS. I’m a liturgical person, so it really resonated with me.

For more about grief see these posts:

The Gravity of Joy by Angela Williams Gorrell–Book Review

The Night Lake by Liz Tichenor–Book Review

For more about the liturgy see:

Liturgy as Prayer

Learning from the Liturgy