Books

Why Trust a God Who Disappoints?

A serious diagnosis took Lori Ann Wood on a faith detour she never saw coming.

As a lifelong believer, she felt profound disappointment in the God she thought she knew. Wanting answers, but more than anything, needing permission to ask the questions, Divine Detour is a result of a risky decision to embrace those difficult questions.

She shares her hard-won insights through relatable stories, inviting you along on a 40-Day journey deep into the heart of a God who often doesn’t behave as we’d like.

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Divine Detour will give voice to your biggest life questions:

Is This Life All There Is?
Is God Always Good?
Is God’s Plan Enough?

The questions will lead you toward a new definition of God’s love based on His nature, rather than His response rate.

You will gain an understanding of God’s character and care not dependent on how many prayers He has answered in your favor.

Most importantly, you will learn to embrace the three questions every life encounters, so your faith can thrive along your own inevitable detour.

Rave Reviews

Lori Ann Wood uses her own medical miracle story to write a beautiful book teaching us to how to hold grief with gratitude and turn it all into grace. In Divine Detour, Lori Ann Wood artfully weaves whimsical childhood stories with dramatic cardiac journal entries and Christian theology to offer the reader lasting lessons in faith. Read this book either as a forty-day journey or as one sitting binge—either way, you will return to it again and again for her wit and wisdom. There are little lessons everywhere and hope for everyone.

Kathy Izard

Author of The Hundred Story Home and The Last Ordinary Hour

Lori Ann orients herself by the Truth of the Word and the love of Christ. There is no self-pity here. Only humility, joy, and palpable peace. Though I am not walking the same life road as Lori Ann, I long to follow her as she follows Jesus. Her heart, and this lovely book, are graceful, gentle, and agelessly beautiful.

Hannah C Hall

Author of Thirsty: 12 Weeks of Drinking Deeply from God’s Word

Divine Detour is an invitation not just to women with heart disease but to every person to lean into their faith, poke and prod it and question it when faced with the unexpected and unwanted detours in life. You will enjoy Lori’s 40 beautiful essays that merge to a glorious mosaic of inspiration, acceptance and love.

Celina E. Gorre

Chief Executive Officer of WomenHeart

I’ve worked with many promising writers over the years who have gone on to accomplish great feats, but few have been as talented, hardworking and endearing as Lori Ann Wood. She writes with the kind of authenticity that simply cannot be taught, and her work is punctuated by haunting turns of phrases with the power to rattle teeth. I cannot wait to get my hands on Divine Detour and recommend it to the many, many people I know in need of its message.

Jonathan Merritt

Contributing writer for The Atlantic and author of Learning to Speak God from Scratch

Lori Ann Wood courageously shares her journey with vulnerability and grace. She walks boldly into the unknown and in the process teaches us to do the same. This is a gift to anyone struggling with uncertainty, health issues, or trying to find footing in the world.

Margaret Feinberg

Author of More Power to You

Tucked within these pages are an exploration of three very important questions we all ask when our lives are interrupted by an unwanted event, or when things are going the opposite of what we hoped. I loved the depth of encouragement, hope, and words found within Lori’s book, Divine Detour.

Suzanne (Suzie) Eller

Bestselling author of 12 books, co-host of More Than Small Talk podcast, host of Prayer Starters podcast

When we’re asking hard questions, we just want answers. But what we really need is to know we’re not alone, God is good no matter what happens, and our story isn’t finished yet. Lori Ann Wood is a wise friend and fellow traveler who will walk with you toward those truths and whose words will give you newfound hope no matter where you are on your journey right now.

Holley Gerth

Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author of What Your Mind Needs for Anxious Moments

Lori Ann Wood is a very special writer—she has a unique and beautiful way of exploring the hard questions that most believers wrestle with while compassionately inviting them to journey along with her to discover the Truth of God’s character. Walking through her own devastating experience has given her a concrete faith—solidified in the fire of life’s most difficult circumstances—making her incredibly relatable to any reader. If you hope to grow in your faith, find God amid your darkest trials, and fall more deeply in love with your Savior—Divine Detour should be on your reading list.

Sandi Warner

Editor in Chief of The Joyful Life Magazine

Lori Ann Wood has poured her heart into these pages, sharing her tragic journey with transparent honesty. If you’re struggling with any kind of disappointment or disillusionment in your life, then Divine Detour will be a welcome guide for your soul! Lori Ann in an engaging, relatable storyteller drawing deep from Scripture and her own suffering. She wrestles with the painful questions we all ask and helps us come out the other side with a stronger hope and faith—and deeper relationship with God. A great companion for anyone who is questioning their faith and the goodness of God. Every page will bring you hope and lead you to the God who has your life in His hands.

Shelly Esser

Editor of Just Between Us Magazine

In Divine Detour, Lori Ann Wood articulates the honest emotions of someone on a health journey, unsought and unwanted. Faced with being swept under by a life-threatening heart condition or using it to grow spiritually, Lori chose the latter. The result is this book, written for fellow sojourners whose lives have been disrupted by God. I was one of them, given a cancer diagnosis ten years ago, so I know trite treatment and pat answers when I see them. This book has none of that. There’s meat on these bones. Readers will connect with Lori’s stories, grow by her insights, and be encouraged to trust God in their own detours.

Sherri Langton

Associate Editor, Bible Advocate Magazine

Lori Ann was the sickest patient a veteran cardiologist had ever seen. Her chances of survival were slim, yet she did survive. She is that rare soul who took the worst life can give and persevered through it, but she did even more than that. She wrote Divine Detour: The Path You Didn’t Choose Can Lead to the Faith You’ve Always Wanted, generously showing you and me how we too can get through the hard trials of life. These forty readings will help you renew your faith and give you the courage you need to move forward no matter what.

Chad R. Allen

Longtime publishing professional and founder of BookCamp

As a part of her medical team, I knew Lori was brave and had a deep faith. But this book blew me away. God’s triumphant goodness and unwavering faithfulness are on full display as she walks us through her difficult diagnosis and the uncertainty of life. I recommend this to all who, like me, struggle with doubt, worry, and control.

Heather Rothrock Heltemes

APRN-CNP, Cardiology