Frances Edmonds

Catch Frances Edmonds on Do Radio: It’s Not About Trees with John Lunn 30th March - 5th April 2026.

In this episode of It’s Not About Trees, host John Lunn sits down with writer, speaker and lifelong “repotter” Frances Edmonds to explore resilience, reinvention and the courage it takes to change direction in life.

The conversation begins with Frances speaking openly about her current experience undergoing chemotherapy, which leads to a powerful reflection on optimism and agency. She shares a striking insight from her oncologist: people who do well during treatment are often those who remain optimistic not because optimism magically heals them, but because it encourages them to follow advice, take action and remain engaged with their recovery.

From there, the discussion expands into Frances’s wider philosophy of life change. She introduces the idea of “black hole problems”—events such as illness, loss or sudden upheaval that arrive without warning and leave little room for control. In contrast, she is particularly interested in the moments when people recognize that something in their life is no longer working and make the deliberate decision to change it.

Frances draws on her own diverse career, which has spanned international interpreting, writing, broadcasting, business leadership and speaking. Throughout the conversation she reflects on how people can recognise when they have become “pot bound” in their careers or lives and how courage, curiosity and discipline help them move into a new phase.

The episode becomes a thoughtful exploration of agency, resilience and the lifelong process of renewal—not just surviving change, but actively shaping it.

At its heart, the conversation asks a simple but powerful question:

How do we find the courage to re-pot our lives when the old container no longer fits?

Bio

Frances Edmonds is a writer, broadcaster, keynote speaker and cross-cultural communications specialist whose career has moved across multiple fields and reinventions. On her official website, she describes herself as a “perennial repotter,” having worked as an international conference interpreter, writer, broadcaster, keynote speaker, building contractor, business development networker and later a Stanford University fellow researching longevity.

Frances began her career as an international conference interpreter for the European Commission and later worked with international organisations and governments, including at World Economic Summits. After moving into writing and broadcasting, she became involved in helping global businesses communicate with diverse stakeholders. Stanford’s Distinguished Careers Institute also notes that she helped create a specialist London construction company and later became a director of The D Group, a leading UK business development network.

She holds BA and MA degrees in modern languages from the University of Cambridge, is a Fellow of the UK Professional Speaking Association, and has written across sport, politics, self-development and fiction. Her published books include Another Bloody Tour, Cricket XXXX Cricket, Members Only, Winning the Game of Life and Repotting Your Life. Her current work focuses on renewal, purpose, wellbeing and how people can navigate major life transitions with honesty, courage and humour.