Like A Diamond Podcast

How do you tell your two young boys that their mother is never coming home?

When Jeff Hadfield's wife suddenly passed away, he was left grieving the love of his life while trying to raise their 3- and 6-year-old sons alone.

It was a devastating chapter in a life already marked by loss.

Jeff had lost his older sister to cancer when he was just nine years old. Years after losing his wife, he found love again with Jamie, only to face more heartbreak through the death of their infant son, miscarriages, and years of infertility struggles.

In this emotional conversation, Jeff shares what it was like to become a single father overnight, the challenges of rebuilding a family, and the lessons that helped him keep moving forward when life seemed unbearably difficult.

He also opens up about the grief men often carry silently, the role faith has played in his journey, and why showing up for someone who is hurting can mean more than finding the perfect words.

Through it all, Jeff has learned that grief doesn't disappear, but our hearts can grow around it.

His message to anyone struggling with loss is simple:

“The sun will come up tomorrow.”

This is a conversation about losing the life you thought you'd have, finding the courage to keep living, and discovering that even after unimaginable heartbreak, there is still room for love, faith, and hope.

Like a Diamond — real stories of lives transformed through pressure, heat, and time.

Ten and a half years of infertility. No clear answer. Still holding on.

Andrew and Kristen talk with Brandt and Shannon Adams (host of the Full Faith, Empty Arms podcast) about infertility from both sides of a marriage. Brandt talks about the husband's side, which people rarely hear. Shannon talks about isolation, not having posterity, and the growth only parents get. They cover deciding against IVF, Shannon's autoimmune diagnoses, praying through monthly heartbreak, and a moment in a Romanian hospital when Shannon felt heaven say, "I am here too."

There's no tidy ending, only faith in the middle, grace for the people who say the wrong thing, and a reminder to keep going.

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After 20 years in a marriage that slowly chipped away at her self-worth, Angie Zitting reached a breaking point.

In this episode, Angie opens up about the red flags she ignored, the emotional abuse that changed how she saw herself, the fear of divorce, and what it took to rebuild her life from the ground up.

She shares how she learned to stop looking to someone else to define her worth—and finally came to believe something she couldn’t see for years:

“I am enough.”

If you’ve ever lost yourself in a relationship, questioned your value, or had to rebuild after your life fell apart, Angie’s story is a powerful reminder that healing is possible.

After nearly 10 years of infertility, Aubrey King finally became pregnant with the baby she had prayed for. But when a serious infection threatened her health, protecting her daughter meant accepting treatment limitations that put Aubrey at greater risk.

After giving birth, the infection continued to worsen. Aubrey eventually lost one leg—and later, her second.

In this episode of the Like a Diamond Podcast, Aubrey shares the emotional toll of infertility, the moment she finally saw a positive pregnancy test, the fight to protect her unborn daughter, and what it was like becoming a double amputee while raising a young child.

Through it all, Aubrey made a decision: she would not let what she lost determine the life she still had.

We talk about:

• Nearly 10 years of infertility and failed fertility treatments
• Embryo adoption and finally becoming pregnant
• Managing diabetes and serious infections during pregnancy
• Choosing to protect her baby despite the risks to her own health
• Losing both legs and learning to walk again
• Motherhood after amputation
• Learning to accept help without feeling like a burden
• Faith, resilience, perspective, and choosing joy after loss

When Aubrey was asked if she lost her legs protecting her daughter, her answer was simple: she would do it all again.

If you’re walking through infertility, chronic illness, disability, loss, or a season that feels impossible, we hope Aubrey’s story reminds you to keep going.

Subscribe to the Like a Diamond Podcast for more real stories of people who have been refined through life’s hardest experiences.

#LikeADiamondPodcast #Infertility #Amputee #Motherhood #Faith #Resilience #InspirationalStories

"He changed a lightbulb for me, said 'see you in a bit,' and left for the gym."

Minutes later, Cindy Pendleton received the phone call that divided her life into "before" and "after." Her 52-year-old husband, Marc, had suffered sudden cardiac arrest. What followed was a 25-minute fight for his pulse, six agonizing days in the ICU, and the heartbreaking reality of navigating life support and loss.

In this episode of Like a Diamond, Cindy opens up about:

• The terrifying moments in the gym parking lot and the miraculous restart of his heart

• How her family navigated life support, brain scan results, and DNR decisions

• The signs of comfort that followed—including an impossible November rainbow

• What society gets completely wrong about "healing" from grief

• Practical ways to support a grieving friend without saying the wrong thing

Whether you are walking through your own valley of grief or looking for ways to show up for someone who is, Cindy’s story offers grounded comfort, perspective, and proof that hope survives even the deepest heartache.

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• Share this episode with someone who needs comfort today.

What happens when chronic illness changes your marriage? Andrew and Kristen Van Noy share how 15 years of chronic illness, caregiver burnout, anxiety, depression, severe sleep deprivation, and unanswered prayers tested their marriage—and how they’re finding hope while they’re still in the middle of it.

In this deeply personal episode of the Like a Diamond Podcast, Kristen opens up about debilitating panic attacks, medication withdrawal, years of sleep problems and restless leg syndrome, depression, and the moments when she questioned whether she could keep going.

Andrew shares the side of chronic illness that often goes unseen: the toll on the caregiver. After years of trying to protect Kristen, care for their children, and hold their family together, he experienced exhaustion, resentment, guilt, and his own physical effects from stress. He also shares one of the hardest things he’s ever admitted to his wife—there were times he imagined what life would be like if he were married to someone who wasn’t sick.

Their struggles affected their marriage, their faith, and the way they saw each other.

Through therapy, difficult conversations, and learning that love doesn’t always mean fixing the person who’s hurting, they began rebuilding their connection.

But this isn’t a story told from the other side.

They’re still in the fire.

There are still unanswered questions and difficult nights. But they’re learning that hope doesn’t have to begin when healing begins.

If you’re living with chronic illness, caring for a sick spouse, struggling with depression or anxiety, questioning your faith, or fighting for your marriage through circumstances you can’t change, this conversation is for you.

💎 Subscribe to Like a Diamond for real stories about faith, marriage, grief, trauma, resilience, mental health, and finding hope through life’s hardest experiences.

#ChronicIllness #CaregiverBurnout #Marriage #MentalHealth #LikeADiamondPodcast

At 21 years old, Jamie Hadfield was run off the road in Mexico, surrounded by armed men, kidnapped, and taken deep into the desert. With guns pointed at her, she was convinced she was going to die.

She survived.

But some of the most painful chapters of Jamie’s life were still ahead.

Years later, Jamie became a wife and stepmother and finally became pregnant with a baby of her own. Her son, Jack, was born extremely premature and lived for only minutes. What followed was years of infertility treatments, 27 artificial inseminations, IVF, and the devastating loss of twins after finally seeing a successful pregnancy.

At one point, Jamie found herself asking God a question many people have asked in their darkest moments: “Why would You do that to me?”

In this deeply vulnerable conversation, Jamie shares what it was like to survive a cartel kidnapping, live with the lasting effects of trauma, lose a child, struggle through infertility and IVF, wrestle with God, and somehow keep moving forward.

She also shares how those experiences ultimately shaped the woman she became—a pageant coach, Mrs. Utah titleholder, Mrs. Mexico titleholder, advocate, mother, and mentor to women around the world.

This episode is about more than surviving tragedy. It’s about what can be created inside us when we walk through experiences we never would have chosen.

Jamie’s message to anyone who feels like they are standing in their own desert is simple:

“Just hold on. The light will come.”

In this episode:
• Surviving a kidnapping at gunpoint in Mexico
• Living with trauma, anxiety, and hypervigilance
• Losing her premature son, Jack
• Infertility, artificial insemination, and IVF
• The heartbreaking loss of twins
• Being angry with God after unanswered prayers
• How to support someone grieving the loss of a child
• Why acknowledging someone’s pain matters
• Finding purpose after suffering
• How hardship creates resilience and real confidence
• Jamie’s journey into pageantry and coaching
• Finding faith and meaning when life doesn’t make sense

If Jamie’s story speaks to you, share this episode with someone who may need to hear it.

Subscribe to Like a Diamond for more honest conversations about loss, adversity, faith, resilience, and the experiences that shape us into who we are meant to become.

How do you survive when the unthinkable happens? Marc and Holly Cram join the Like a Diamond podcast to share their journey through the sudden loss of their 13-year-old son, Beckham. They open up about raw anger at God, navigating grief in marriage, and choosing to turn into the storm.

In this episode, we discuss:

• (00:00) The Be Like Beck Story
  
• (05:12) Who Was Beckham Cram?
  
• (11:12) The Sudden Accident
  
• (15:39) Leaving the Hospital & The Shock of Grief
  
• (20:46) Choosing Celebration Over Tradition
  
• (27:26) Raw Anger at God & Hitting the Bottom
  
• (33:49) Moving Energy: Breathwork & Grief
  
• (39:45) Asymmetrical Grief: Surviving Marriage Strain
  
• (47:30) Eliminating "Shoulds" & Living in Alignment
  
• (52:36) Signs, Thinning the Veil & Staying Connected
  
• (01:02:15) What Grieving Parents Actually Need
  
• (01:07:38) Turning Into the Storm Like the Buffalo
  

Follow the podcast and share this episode with anyone walking through grief or difficult life trials.

Kim Schoepke thought she had reached her breaking point. Then life gave her even more to carry.

In this deeply personal conversation, Kim shares her journey through severe depression, her husband’s bipolar disorder and manic episodes, a brain tumor and multiple brain surgeries, financial devastation, divorce, and the painful decision to protect her children while still loving the man she had been with since she was young. 

But their story did not end with divorce.

Kim explains how her husband eventually hit rock bottom, took responsibility for rebuilding his life, went through therapy and recovery, repaired relationships with their children, and slowly earned back trust. Years after believing their marriage was permanently over, Kim made the unexpected decision to marry him again. 

Along the way, Kim shares powerful lessons about mental health, forgiveness, boundaries, faith, parenting through crisis, and what happens when you reach the point where you have nothing left to give.

This is a story about losing almost everything, learning when to let go, finding the courage to forgive, and discovering that broken things can sometimes be rebuilt into something stronger than before.

Topics include: bipolar disorder, depression, mental health, marriage, divorce, remarriage, brain tumors, brain surgery, forgiveness, faith, trauma, parenting, resilience, and healing.

“Feeling is healing.”

After losing her two-year-old daughter, Joy, Tami Weaver faced the unimaginable task of grieving while parenting four other children and holding her family together.

Tami joins Andrew and Kristen to remember the spirited little girl Joy was and to share what followed her unexpected death: shock, empty arms, different grieving styles within a marriage, and the challenge of helping children mourn their sister.

Eighteen years later, Tami still misses Joy and continues to speak of her as part of the family. Her faith has not erased the sorrow, but it has helped her carry it with hope, compassion, and the belief that today’s pain will not always feel this overwhelming.

This tender conversation is for anyone living with loss—or trying to support someone who is. Tami offers no shortcut through grief, only an honest reminder: allow yourself to feel, take the next small step, and trust that you will breathe again.

Content note: This episode discusses the death of a young child and family grief.