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 Annie, a newlywed and recent Master of Social Work graduate. Annie lost her mom, Karen, to glioblastoma when she was just 15. Karen was an active marathon runner and the life of the party, until an ordinary summer day when Annie got a text at summer school that doctors had found a mass on her mom’s brain. She rushed to the hospital, hugged her mom before surgery, and after that day, her mom was never the same.In this episode, Annie walks us through the 18 months she spent watching her mom fight brain cancer, from the sudden personality changes after that first surgery to the moment her older brother sat her down in a hospital cafeteria and told her, “Mom will not survive this”. She opens up about the trauma of home hospice care, the conflicted guilt of feeling relief when her mom’s suffering finally ended on a Friday, and going back to high school on Monday—only to hear rumors from classmates wondering why she wasn’t crying. We also talk about how losing her first love four years later triggered a wave of delayed grief she had pushed away for years, and why grieving her mom has actually gotten harder in adulthood as she hits milestones like marriage and future motherhood without ever getting to know the adult version of her mom. Annie shares how her family keeps Karen’s memory alive through recipe books, how she navigated her dad dating again and found healing with a stepmom who had also lost her spouse, and how she is turning her pain into purpose by becoming a therapist to create a safe space for others.Connect with Annie Perry► Instagram: @anniejperryConnect 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] and subscribe if this episode gave you chills, changed your perspective, or brought you comfort. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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_88Connect 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] and subscribe if this episode gave you chills, changed your perspective, or brought you comfort. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

⚠️ 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.robledo92Connect 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] and subscribe if this episode gave you chills, changed your perspective, or brought you comfort. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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. Today, at 45 years old, Kristina utilizes her personal recovery experience to guide her therapy clients through nervous system regulation and trauma healing. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome back to the Just for Today podcast, where we dive deep into the uncomfortable with zero filters. I'm your host, Adriana, alongside co-host Kevin, and in this episode we're joined by Cassie and Nick, two people who each lost a spouse to cancer and then, against every odd, found each other.Cassie, a nurse practitioner, lost her high school sweetheart, Cody, to pancreatic cancer just 66 days after his diagnosis, leaving her to raise their four children. Before he died, Cody told her something she could barely stand to hear: that he'd been praying for her future husband. Nick, a Texas head football coach, spent three and a half years fighting alongside his wife, Anna, as breast cancer spread through her body, before losing her and becoming a single dad to their two young daughters. What neither of them knew was that Anna had quietly reached out to Cassie, a stranger at the time, while she was still sick.In this episode, Cassie and Nick share the raw details of their spouses' final days, what it taught them about advocating inside the medical system, and the almost unbelievable chain of events that brought them together, from a single Facebook message to a wedding just months later. They open up about blending a family of six, parenting as a united front while honoring the two people they lost, and facing a community that judged them for "moving on too fast." Most of all, they talk about how grief and joy can live side by side, and why choosing to love again was the most selfless thing they could do.A heads-up that this conversation covers loss, terminal illness, and grief honestly.I hope this one stays with you.Connect with Cassie & Nick► Instagram: @rebuildingrogersConnect 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode of Just for Today, Adriana sits down with Aaron, who lost his wife Natalie just ten hours after she gave birth to their first child, Parker, in February. What began as a precautionary hospital visit for lower back pain turned into an emergency C-section, a placental abruption, and internal bleeding the doctors ultimately couldn't stop.Aaron shares the full story: meeting Natalie at church in 2023, their marriage, the pregnancy, and the surreal walk out of the hospital as a new father and widower. He opens up about grieving while raising a newborn, wrestling with anger toward God, learning to let his emotions out for the first time, and the small, unexpected moments that trigger the loss. He also reflects on Natalie's legacy as a beloved teacher, the daily routines he's built so Parker will know his mother's voice, and what he's learned about how to truly show up for someone who's grieving.This is a raw, honest conversation about faith, fatherhood, and finding a way to keep going.If you or someone you know is struggling with grief, please reach out to a trusted person or a mental health professional.Connect with Aaron ► Instagram: @_aamartin Connect 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I'm sitting down with Amy - a nutritionist of nearly 25 years and a licensed EMDR trauma therapist who got into this work the hard way, through her own ten-year battle with anorexia.Amy doesn't hold back. She talks about recovering from an eating disorder in the '80s when there was basically no treatment for it, the abuse and constant moving that marked her childhood, and losing her brother to addiction eight years ago. Along the way she drops the kind of ideas that stick with you: that an addiction is usually the solution, not the problem. That there's a 1940s starvation study showing how restricting food can turn a perfectly healthy person anxious, obsessive, and depressed in three months. That so much of what we call willpower or personality — the overspending, the doom-scrolling, the not being able to sit in a quiet room — traces back to a nervous system that never learned how to settle.We also get into parenting: why eating disorders are showing up in kids younger and younger, the small comments that do more damage than you'd think, and why doing your own work is how you stop passing things down. Amy shares her honest take on the whole GLP-1 wave and what it's like helping people come off it, and she rattles off real resources for anyone who can't afford therapy right now — including warm lines you can text from your bed when you just need someone to pick up.It's a real one. Hope you get something from it.Just for today, keep going.This episode touches on eating disorders, addiction, abuse, and grief. If you're struggling, please reach out to a qualified professional or a local support line.Connect with Amy► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amyleifermancounseling/Connect 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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Cassie and Nick Rogers each buried a spouse — and then found each other.In this episode of Just for Today, Adriana and co-host Kevin sit down with both of them for an honest conversation about grief, faith, blending a family of six kids, and the judgment that comes with finding love again after loss.Cassie's husband Cody — her high school sweetheart and the father of her four children — went from seemingly healthy to a stage IV pancreatic cancer diagnosis, and passed away just 66 days later. As a nurse practitioner, Cassie carries the weight of having seen his scans before anyone said the word "cancer," and of advocating fiercely when doctors pushed back. Before he died, Cody did something extraordinary: he told her he'd been praying for her future husband — and for the man who would one day help raise their kids.Nick's late wife Anna fought a three-and-a-half-year battle with inflammatory triple-negative breast cancer that spread to her brain, spine, and liver. In one of the most moving parts of their story, it was Anna herself who first reached out to Cassie on social media — months before she passed — asking this young widow to one day be a friend to the family she would leave behind.What unfolds is a raw, faith-driven conversation about:Trusting your gut and advocating inside the medical systemTelling your children a parent is dying — and the regrets that lingerWhy "grief and joy can coexist"The backlash, the lost friendships, and the people who truly showed upHow two grieving families became one — and why all six kids now call them Mom and DadThis is an episode about choosing to live again, and the belief that loving again isn't selfish — it's one of the most selfless things you can do.Follow Cassie & Nick: @rebuildingrogers—Content note: This episode discusses terminal illness, the loss of a parent, grief, and accidental overdose. Please take care while listening. If you're struggling, support is available — in the US, call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. For grief support, reach out to a local hospice or a licensed grief counselor.—Just for Today is hosted by Adriana Sansam — diving deep into uncomfortable topics with zero filters. New episodes drop regularly. If this one moved you, follow the show and share it with someone who needs it. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.