Lisa J. Chambers lost her mother, Jeanne, to Hodgkin's disease before she turned three. Although her father remarried several years later and Lisa grew up in a supportive family with a loving woman she considered her mother, she always wondered about her birth mother. Who was she? What was she like?

As an adult with three daughters of her own, Lisa felt she needed to reconnect with this mysterious woman to give her girls an idea of who their grandmother was. So she reached out to everyone who had known Jeanne, asking for pictures, stories, and information. And Jeanne's family and friends were amazingly generous.

Yet more amazing, though, was the way Lisa's journey evolved into something other than what she had originally envisioned. Her experience, with its unexpected detours, challenges, and life lessons, enriched Lisa's life far beyond anything she could learn about the mother she had never known.

Unexpected is a powerful memoir about growing up after profound loss, along with the process of discovery. It's a moving story of love and faith that both celebrates the life of Lisa's birth mother and offers insight and inspiration to anyone dealing with the loss of a parent.