The Unexpected Detour ❤️

Sometimes the hardest detours are the ones no one else can see. In this episode of The Unexpected Detour ❤️, I welcome Jack L. Finkle, author of The Extreme Mercy of Jesus Christ: And How He Proved It to Me. Jack shares his experience with depression, surviving a suicide attempt, and the gradual journey toward finding hope again. He reflects on the love of his wife and daughters, the support of hi...

Krystal Craven, a California Christian artist and songwriter, joins Frances Hammond for an honest conversation about the detours that changed her life—childhood sexual abuse, chronic illness, partial paralysis, and the long work of healing. Krystal shares how facing the truth, renewing her mind in God’s Word, and writing music in the middle of pain helped her rediscover her voice, strengthen her f...

What happens when you stop shrinking yourself to make other people comfortable? Andrea C. Stallworth of Brown Girl From Boston joins me on The Unexpected Detour® ❤️ for an honest conversation about rebuilding after heartbreak and job loss. She shares how therapy, faith, photography, writing, and solo travel helped her reconnect with herself and begin enjoying life while still healing. We explore p...

What began as an ordinary visit to a coffee shop turned into an unexpected lesson about assumptions, awareness, and the importance of curiosity. It all started with a pink scarf. During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I noticed a woman wearing pink and assumed her cancer journey. I was wrong. But what could have ended as an awkward encounter became a meaningful conversation about survivorship, unde...

What exactly are we racing toward? That's the question that stayed on my mind as I watched artificial intelligence continue to advance at an incredible pace. But this episode isn't only about AI.It's about us. Human beings have always raced toward the next discovery—the next machine, the next frontier, the next breakthrough. From industrialization and automobiles to aviation, space travel, compute...

The Unexpected Detour® ❤️ | Resilience of Black Women Embracing SurvivorshipWhat happens when breast cancer treatment ends, but the emotional, physical, and spiritual journey continues? In this heartfelt episode of The Unexpected Detour® ❤️, I sit down with the women of Resilience of Black Women Embracing Survivorship for an honest, unscripted conversation about the realities of life after breast...

A good moment can exist alongside an unfinished problem. Join me for a short Sunday audio reflection on making room for joy, rest, and yourself. You deserve something in your week that makes you say, “I’m looking forward to that.”Subscribe to The Unexpected Detour ❤️, like this episode, and share it with someone who could use some encouragement. How are you enjoying these audio conversations? Let...

What happens when human beings become afraid of the very technology we created? A drive home and a thought about Rod Serling led me back to three memorable episodes of The Twilight Zone: “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street,” “I Sing the Body Electric,” and “Uncle Simon.”Those stories made me think about today's fears surrounding artificial intelligence. AI can do extraordinary things, but behind...

Who created God—and what does it mean to trust a Creator our human minds cannot fully explain? In this personal faith reflection, Frances Hammond explores a question she once asked her mother and the realization that the Creator is Spirit—beyond the human boundaries of gender, age, race, and physical form. She reflects on the masculine language often used for God, the life of Jesus, and the attrib...

September 11, 2001, began as an ordinary workday for Frances Hammond. In this deeply personal, unscripted reflection, she remembers a planned visit near the World Trade Center, the call from her son, the exodus of people walking to safety, and the coworkers she lost that day. This is a New Yorker’s memory of lives changed forever—and a reminder to tell the people you love that you love them. What...

What happens when the road you never expected becomes the road that leads you into purpose? In this episode of The Unexpected Detour ♥️, Frances Hammond welcomes Rev. Dr. LaKeesha Walrond for a heartfelt conversation about faith, leadership, healing, perseverance, and becoming. Dr. LaKeesha shares how growing up as an only child in Texas and being raised by a mother who refused to let her settle f...

Hate, prejudice, division, and judgment aren't new. We've carried them from one generation to another, sometimes without stopping to question what we're passing along. In this episode of The Unexpected Detour ❤️, I'm asking all of us to look in the mirror. No race, religion, culture, or group is exempt from prejudice. One person's actions should never become the reason we judge millions of people...

Life can be going exactly as planned, and then, without warning, everything changes. In this episode of The Unexpected Detour ♥️, Frances shares how a recent car accident disrupted more than her schedule. Between the shock, pain, appointments, and unexpected writer’s block, she found herself struggling to regain the focus she had before the accident. Then came the realization: this was another une...

Treatment may end, but the journey does not. In this open conversation, women living through and beyond breast cancer speak honestly about survivorship—the fear of recurrence, scan anxiety, body image, fatigue, intimacy, hormonal therapy, ongoing medical care, and the loneliness that can follow treatment. This is a space for the after no one sees.“If this conversation gave language to something yo...

Cancer changes more than our bodies—it can change how we see ourselves, how we experience intimacy, and how we navigate relationships long after diagnosis. Yet sexuality and survivorship remain topics that many survivors, caregivers, and even healthcare providers rarely discuss openly. In this episode of Life Beyond Cancer, Frances shares an honest conversation about the emotional and physical imp...

In a world where opinions spread faster than facts, how do we separate truth from speculation? In this episode of The Unexpected Detour ❤️, Frances Hammond reflects on the public conversation surrounding the tragic death of Nolan Xavier Wells. Rather than focusing on rumors or assigning blame, this episode explores the questions many of us should be asking about truth, accountability, compassion,...

This week, I decided to take The Unexpected Detour ♥️ on a personal route. A drive home led me back to memories of growing up as an only child—my imaginary friend DeeDee, my Barbie dolls, handmade clothes and earrings, tiny cakes from my Easy-Bake Oven, and the creativity that helped me learn how to be alone without feeling lonely. I also reflect on the common assumption that only children are spo...

In this episode of The Unexpected Detour, Frances reflects on the countless missing-person stories that many of us never hear about through traditional news outlets. After seeing post after post on social media about missing children, teenagers, young adults, and older adults, she began asking difficult questions. Why do some cases become national headlines while others remain known only within th...

What truly measures the condition of a person’s heart? In this reflective episode of The Unexpected Detour ♥️ , Frances revisits a familiar quote from The Wizard of Oz : “A heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others.”Although the quote once seemed meaningful, life experience has led her to question its message. Should our worth really be determined by how muc...

What happens when telling the truth requires a reward? In this episode of The Unexpected Detour ❤️, Frances Hammond reflects on a question that has stayed with her: What has happened to our conscience? Inspired by the public conversation surrounding the tragic death of Nolan Xavier Wells, this episode is not about determining guilt or innocence. It is about something much larger—the role of accoun...

Life Beyond Cancer is a conversation series from The Unexpected Detour, hosted by breast cancer survivor Frances Hammond. Life after cancer is often described as the end of treatment, but for many survivors, it is the beginning of a new journey. These conversations explore the emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual realities of survivorship—the experiences that often go unspoken long after tre...

What does grace really mean? Many of us think of grace as a second chance, but perhaps it's much more than that. In this Sunday edition of The Unexpected Detour ❤️, Frances reflects on why we're often quick to extend grace to others while struggling to offer it to ourselves. Why do we continue carrying guilt long after the lesson has been learned? Why do we allow past mistakes to define who we are...

What can a morning walk with a dog teach us about life? While walking Mocha this morning, I found myself watching the wild geese, swans, and ducks that share a pond near my home. Although they are different in size, appearance, and behavior, they continue to share the same space. That simple observation led me to ask a much deeper question:Why do we, as human beings, struggle to live peacefully wi...

What happens after the treatments end and everyone believes you're okay? In this episode of Life Beyond Cancer, a special series from The Unexpected Detour, Frances shares why she believes cancer survivors need one another long after active treatment has ended. She reflects on the hidden realities of survivorship—living with side effects, scan anxiety, ongoing medications, and the simple words so...

Lately, I've found myself asking a question that has nothing to do with politics, denominations, or labels. Who am I following? As I watch the events unfolding across our country, I see a world that feels increasingly divided. We are often quick to judge one another because of race, culture, beliefs, or opinions. It made me stop and ask whether my own life reflects the One I say I follow. This wee...