The Bible, Marathon Running & Unexpected Healing: Can Ancient Texts Heal Modern Wounds?

In early 2024, Kaitlyn Gilbert, a designer I’ve worked with for several years, reached out after hearing me discuss my book The Healing Book on a podcast. “I see parallels in our stories that are too striking to pass up,” she wrote. She wanted to share her own healing story, one that involved her parents’ unexpected divorce, leaving corporate life during the pandemic, and finding solace in the most unlikely place for a millennial designer: daily readings of The Bible.

I’m not religious myself, but I’m curious about healing in all its forms. When Kaitlyn told me she’d read The Bible cover to cover while training for the New York City Marathon, and that it helped her break cycles of self-destructive behavior and restore her sense of purpose, I had questions. What wisdom does an ancient text offer someone navigating modern crises? How does reading scripture function as a healing practice? And what does her experience tell us about the intersection of literature, love, and recovery?

In this episode, we discuss:

• How unexpected grief—her parents’ divorce—catalyzed Kaitlyn’s search for healing

• Why she felt empty despite achieving everything she was “supposed” to achieve

• The decision to run the NYC Marathon and read The Bible daily during training

• Specific verses that helped her recognize and break self-destructive patterns

• The difference between reading scripture at 16 versus 25

• How an ancient text speaks to modern wounds like purposelessness and low self-worth

• Why she sees The Bible as “the intersection of reading and love”

• What her story adds to our understanding of how books can heal

💡 Learn more about Kaitlyn’s design work: https://dkdesignedit.com/

💡 About Curiously: https://www.podpage.com/curiously/