What happens when you live on a planet where grief rewrites the language of everyday life? Kate Bowler speaks with writer and New York Times editor Sarah Wildman about her daughter Orli’s incandescent life and staggering courage while living with terminal cancer. Together they explore the limits of positivity culture, the fierce tenderness of caregiving, the sacred discomfort of truth-telling, and the love that carries us when nothing adds up. This is a conversation for anyone who has lived inside the ache—and chosen joy anyway.

Show Notes:


Sarah Wildman’s award-winning writing at The New York Times


Leonard Cohen’s “Who By Fire”


Jewish practices of grief (shiva) and care (bikur cholim)


Blessing for Life After Loss


Support Guides: Parenting a Medically-Complicated Child, When Your Child is in Pain, When You’ve Been Diagnosed


Orli, in all her joy: @orli_halpern on TikTok


For those of us who live on a different planet now: Small Talk Survivor Tee | Mug


Kate’s Substack – blessings, reflections, and our tender corner of the internet

What happens when you live on a planet where grief rewrites the language of everyday life? Kate Bowler speaks with writer and New York Times editor Sarah Wildman about her daughter Orli&rsquo;s incandescent life and staggering courage while living with terminal cancer. Together they explore the limits of positivity culture, the fierce tenderness of caregiving, the sacred discomfort of truth-telling, and the love that carries us when nothing adds up. This is a conversation for anyone who has lived inside the ache&mdash;and chosen joy anyway.
Show Notes:
<ul>
<li data-start="166" data-end="258">
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/sarah-wildman" data-start="168" data-end="258">Sarah Wildman&rsquo;s award-winning writing at The New York Times</a>
</li>
<li data-start="259" data-end="322">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=251Blni2AE4">Leonard Cohen&rsquo;s &ldquo;Who By Fire&rdquo;</a>
</li>
<li data-start="323" data-end="386">
Jewish practices of <a href="https://reformjudaism.org/beliefs-practices/lifecycle-rituals/death-mourning/everything-you-need-know-about-jewish-custom-shiva">grief (shiva)</a> and <a href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/383786/jewish/Bikur-Cholim-Visiting-the-Sick.htm">care (bikur cholim)</a>
</li>
<li data-start="387" data-end="437">
<a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/katebowler/p/a-blessing-for-life-after-loss?r=4dul9&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;showWelcomeOnShare=true">Blessing for Life After Loss</a>
</li>
<li data-start="438" data-end="566">
Support Guides: <a href="https://katebowler.com/guide/everything-happens-in-our-families/" data-start="456" data-end="500">Parenting a Medically-Complicated Child</a>, <a href="https://katebowler.com/guide/child-is-in-pain/" data-start="502" data-end="533">When Your Child is in Pain</a>, <a href="https://katebowler.com/guide/illness-happens/" data-start="535" data-end="566">When You&rsquo;ve Been Diagnosed</a>
</li>
<li data-start="567" data-end="662">
Orli, in all her joy: <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@orli_halpern?lang=en" data-start="591" data-end="662">@orli_halpern on TikTok</a>
</li>
<li data-start="663" data-end="756">
For those of us who live on a different planet now: <a href="https://shop.katebowler.com/product/small-talk-survivor-pocket-t-shirt/" data-start="717" data-end="745">Small Talk Survivor Tee</a> | <a href="https://shop.katebowler.com/product/small-talk-survivor-mug/" data-start="748" data-end="756">Mug</a>
</li>
<li data-start="757" data-end="873">
<a href="katebowler.substack.com" data-start="759" data-end="809">Kate&rsquo;s Substack</a> &ndash; blessings, reflections, and our tender corner of the internet
</li>
</ul>

Are you living your best life now? Not always? This is a podcast for you. Duke Professor Kate Bowler is an expert in the stories we tell about success and failure, suffering and happiness. She had Stage IV cancer. Then she didn’t. And since then, all she wants to do is talk to funny and wise people about how to live with the knowledge that, well, everything happens.  Find her online at @katecbowler.

Sales and Distribution by Lemonada Media https://lemonadamedia.com/

Are you living your best life now? Not always? This is a podcast for you. Duke Professor Kate Bowler is an expert in the stories we tell about success and failure, suffering and happiness. She had Stage IV cancer. Then she didn’t. And since then, all she wants to do is talk to funny and wise people about how to live with the knowledge that, well, everything happens.  Find her online at @katecbowler.
Sales and Distribution by Lemonada Media <a href="https://lemonadamedia.com/" data-stringify-link="https://lemonadamedia.com/" data-sk="tooltip_parent">https://lemonadamedia.com/</a>

Honest conversation about life's less-shiny moments.

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