Healing After a Toxic Relationship | EP 27 | Just for Today Podcast

Welcome to the Just for Today podcast, where we dive deep into uncomfortable topics with zero filters. I’m your host, Adriana Sansam, and today I’m joined by Liz Daniels, a mom of two, young widow, and co-host of the Grace After Grief podcast. Liz lost her husband, Tim, in a sudden three-car accident when she was just 35. It was an ordinary Friday. He told her he loved her, stepped out to pick up groceries, and ten minutes later an SOS alert lit up her phone. In this episode, Liz walks us through the day she lost Tim, from that first alert to the moment in a crowded hospital waiting room when she knew he was gone. She opens up about the recurring dreams she had during her pregnancy that Tim would die in a car crash, the signs she believes he still sends her, and what it’s like when her four-year-old asks, “When is he coming home from heaven?” We also talk about why “you’re so strong” is the comment so many widows dread, going back to work two weeks after the loss, and how grief quieted her lifelong anxiety for a while. Liz shares how she found love again with Tim’s best friend, Josh, who helps keep Tim’s stories alive for their daughter. She also explains how she’s turning her pain into purpose through her own podcast, Grace After Grief: Our Story for His Glory. Connect with Liz ► Instagram: @elind_88 Connect with Adriana ► TikTok: @justfortodaypodcast ► Instagram: @justfortodaypodcast ► YouTube: @justfortodaypodcast This podcast was produced by Scufd Studio Pvt. Ltd. For permissions, inquiries, or collaboration, please contact [email protected] Like and subscribe if this episode gave you chills, changed your perspective, or brought you comfort.

⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses attempted murder, violence against a pregnant woman, and a traumatic birth. Please listen with care. Welcome to the Just for Today podcast! I'm your host, Adriana, and today I'm joined by Angelique Robledo, a survivor of attempted murder, attempted fetal abduction, and arson. In February 2011, Angelique was 18 and nine months pregnant. She invited a new friend to her home in Maricopa, Arizona. The friend was another "pregnant" teen she'd met through mutual friends, and she said she was coming to drop off baby shower gifts. By the end of that day, Angelique's closet was on fire and two butcher knives had been found in her guest's diaper bag. In this episode, Angelique walks us through the day that nearly cost her and her son their lives. She describes the strange gift-giving ritual, and the inner voice that told her to get up at the exact moment the count reached three. She also talks about her long fight to be believed by the police, her family, and even herself. She opens up about the traumatic birth that followed days later, the plea deal she says she was pressured into, and why her appearance on the Dr. Phil show kept her silent for years. She also shares what she discovered nearly a decade later, when she finally listened to the interrogation tapes herself. Finally, Angelique talks about how becoming a surrogate helped her heal, why she spoke up at her attacker's release hearing, and why she'll never stop telling her story. This is a conversation about trusting your gut, even when everyone around you says you're overreacting. Thank you for listening. Connect with Angelique Robledo ► Instagram: @angelique.robledo92 Connect with Adriana ► TikTok: @justfortodaypodcast ► Instagram: @justfortodaypodcast ► YouTube: @justfortodaypodcast This podcast was produced by Scufd Studio Pvt. Ltd. For permissions, inquiries, or collaboration, please contact [email protected] Like and subscribe if this episode gave you chills, changed your perspective, or brought you comfort.

In this episode of the Just for Today podcast, Adriana interviews Kristina, a therapist and recovering alcoholic. Kristina discusses her upbringing in Washington Heights and the deep-seated feelings of loneliness stemming from growing up with an absent father. She explains how her relationship with alcohol evolved from teenage partying and college bingeing into a daily dependence on vodka to mask the pain of her marriage and eventual divorce. The episode highlights her profound breaking point, which occurred when her 14-year-old daughter and ex-husband confronted her about her drinking problem. This confrontation led to an intense moment of suicidal ideation in her kitchen before Kristina made the life-saving decision to enter a 30-day rehabilitation center.

Everyone thought they were triplets. Jake, Joe, and Sam Sharp did everything together. Then in March 2020, while both twins were serving LDS missions in Mexico, Sam died by suicide at 16.Jake and Joe sit down with Adriana to talk about the day the call came, the two nights they spent alone in a foreign country before they could fly home, and closing the casket on their best friend. They get into the parts families usually keep private: their ten-year-old brother finding him, the shame and perfectionism they think played a role, and why being angry at God didn't cost them their faith.Adriana also shares her own attempt, and the three words in her late husband's handwriting that stopped her and became the name of this podcast.Sam was the light in every room. He was also the one struggling. As his brothers say: he lost a battle, but look at all the battles he won.⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: Detailed discussion of suicide, suicide attempt and method, depression, and religious shame.Connect with Jake & Joe► Instagram: @jduofitConnect with Adriana ► TikTok: @justfortodaypodcast ► Instagram: @justfortodaypodcast ► YouTube: @justfortodaypodcastThis podcast was produced by Scufd Studio Pvt. Ltd. For permissions, inquiries, or collaboration, please contact [email protected] Like and subscribe if this episode gave you chills, changed your perspective, or brought you comfort.

Two days before they were supposed to move into their dream home, Makela Allen's husband died by suicide. He'd been sober for nearly two and a half years. She was 29, with a three-year-old, a 15-month-old, and a 15-year-old niece she'd just taken in after her own mother died eight months earlier.In this episode of Just For Today, Makela sits down with Adriana to tell the whole story, not the version she posted on Instagram. She talks about the years of drinking and abuse she hid behind smiling photos, the intervention, the night she gave him the ultimatum that got him sober, and the Thursday morning he brought her a cup of coffee before he left. She walks us through the Target parking lot, the cop cars, the drone, the hospital, and the phone call to his mother that ended their relationship for good.She also talks about what nobody prepares you for: that there is no research on childhood suicide grief. That her four-year-old told his friends at school a werewolf killed his dad. That her son says "my dad died" to waiters, and she refuses to teach him shame about it. That Father's Day is now donuts at the cemetery at 7am because Arizona hits 100 degrees by 8. That year two was harder than year one. That she felt peace for the first time in eight years, and felt guilty for feeling it.And then there's the part people don't expect from a widow: she's dating again. "Ten men, ten experiences," which turns out to be less about sex than about learning who she is when she's not somebody's wife.This is a conversation between two young widows who have both told their kids their dad is dead, who have both been asked why they're "still talking about it," and who both keep coming back to the same answer: grief and joy can coexist, and life can still be beautiful.⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains detailed discussion of suicide, domestic violence, alcohol addiction, and child grief. Please take care of yourself while listening.CHAPTERS 00:38 Meet Makela: mom of two, wedding producer, widow 02:20 Married at 23: "we were two broken puzzle pieces" 03:33 The drinking, the anger, and the apartments he destroyed 04:24 The work trip that changed everything 06:04 February 7th: the ultimatum that got him sober 08:03 "You can't love someone more than they love themselves" 10:49 "If I knew our ending, would I still have chosen him?" 12:25 Healing out loud when he suffered in silence 14:27 The Disneyland photo where she hid her bruises 17:00 What her kids remember (and what she's grateful they don't) 18:18 "There are no books on childhood suicide grief" 22:00 The werewolf theory: how kids piece it together 24:31 "My dad died": teaching a six-year-old there's no shame 26:52 Donuts with Dad at the cemetery 29:04 The last week 32:14 The last morning: the coffee, the kiss, the text 34:40 The Target parking lot 37:20 The hospital, the cops, and the call to his mom 41:13 Telling a three-year-old his dad died 45:00 Grieving a parent at every developmental stage 49:40 Filling your own cup while everyone judges you for it52:00 Dating again: "ten men, ten experiences" 57:18 Her non-negotiables now 1:02:04 What grief taught her: life can still be beautifulConnect with Makela► Instagram: @makelaallenConnect with Adriana ► TikTok: @justfortodaypodcast ► Instagram: @justfortodaypodcast ► YouTube: @justfortodaypodcastThis podcast was produced by Scufd Studio Pvt. Ltd. For permissions, inquiries, or collaboration, please contact [email protected] Like and subscribe if this episode gave you chills, changed your perspective, or brought you comfort.