It’s easy to be caught in the trap of perfectionism, especially when those around us seem to have it all together. But we can find ourselves alone and discouraged when things don’t go as we’ve planned, and the lives we actually have fail to resemble those we’d hoped to lead.

In her recently released book The Lives We Actually Lead, New York Times best-selling author and Duke University professor Kate Bowler (along with co-author Jessica Richie) offer a collection of blessings that center gratitude and hope while acknowledging the reality of our often messy and frantic everyday lives. They show how embracing our limitations and vulnerabilities, as well as those of others, can open new possibilities for healing, hope, and community.

In partnership with Duke Divinity School, the Trinity Forum held an Evening Conversation at the National Press Club on Tuesday, February 21st with Kate to explore how the blessings of truth, beauty, and meaning can be discovered amid the chaos of life.