40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection
By: Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie
ISBN: 978-0593193686
Publisher: Convergent Books
Publication Date: 02/15/2022
Format: Hardcover
My Rating: 4 Stars
A compassionate, intelligent, and wry series of Christian daily reflections on learning to live with imperfection in a culture of self-help that promotes endless progress, from the New York Times bestselling author of Everything Happens for a Reason and the executive producer of the Everything Happens podcast
In Kate Bowler’s bestselling memoir Everything Happens for a Reason, readers witnessed the ways she, as a divinity-school professor and young mother, reckoned with a Stage IV cancer diagnosis; in her follow-up memoir, No Cure for Being Human, she unflinchingly and winsomely unpacked the ways that life becomes both hard and beautiful when we abandon certainty and the illusion of control in our lives. Now, in their first-ever devotional book, Kate Bowler and co-author Jessica Richie offer 40ish short spiritual reflections on how we can make sense of life not as a pursuit of endless progress but as a chronic condition. This book is a companion for when you want to stop feeling guilty that you’re not living your best life now.
Written gently and with humor, Good Enough is permission for all those who need to hear that there are some things you can fix—and some things you can’t. And it’s okay that life isn’t always better. In these gorgeously written reflections, Bowler and Richie offer fresh imagination for how truth, beauty, and meaning can be discovered amid the chaos of life. Their words celebrate kindness, honesty, and interdependence in a culture that rewards ruthless individualism and blind optimism. Ultimately, in these pages we can rest in the encouragement to strive for what is possible today—while recognizing that though we are finite, the life in front of us can be beautiful.
Praise
“Brilliant, hilarious, absurd, honest, hopeful, true-hearted, and good to the core.” —Sarah Bessey, editor of A Rhythm of Prayer and author of Jesus Feminist
“With humor and wit, Good Enough guides us into a spirituality that is at once rich and humble, challenging us to search for beauty and meaning in deep waters, yet never asking more of us than a tender and compassionate God would. This devotional is medicine for all those thirsting for mercy in the mundane.”
—Cole Arthur Riley, author of This Here Flesh and creator of Black Liturgies
“This book understands me, especially the parts I keep hidden for fear people will think less of me if they know how sad I can get. Kate and Jessica bless those who mourn. They also connect the dots between feelings and actions, giving readers concrete things to do that lead to small springs of healing bubbling up all over the place.”
—Barbara Brown Taylor, author of An Altar in the World and Learning to Walk in the Dark
“Winsome, wise, and true, Good Enough is a devotional for those of us who can’t stand devotionals. Kate and Jessica are gentle, funny companions for the journey. Overflowing with grace, humor, and clear-eyed counsel, their warm and tender writing pushes back against my cynicism and fear. Their generous blessings soften my curmudgeonly heart. And, ultimately, they convince me that I don’t need to be perfect, that I can be good enough—and there’s tremendous hope in that.”
—Jeff Chu, author of Does Jesus Really Love Me? and co-curator of Evolving Faith
About the Authors
Kate Bowler is the author of the New York Times bestseller Everything Happens for a Reason, as well as No Cure for Being Human, Blessed, and The Preacher’s Wife. An associate professor of the history of Christianity in North America at Duke Divinity School, Bowler earned an undergraduate degree at Macalester College, a master’s degree in religion from Yale Divinity School, and a Ph.D. from Duke University. WEBSITE
Jessica Richie is the executive director of the Everything Happens Initiative and the executive producer of the Everything Happens podcast. She received her M.Div. from Duke Divinity School and is the co-author of Hand Lettering God’s Love.
