In The Heart Of The Vault – Details, episodes & analysis

There’s so much pressure to get back to normal after something life-changing.

As adults… we learn to step away.

From conversations that don’t feel right.

From people who say the wrong thing.

From environments that feel too heavy.

But kids don’t always have that choice.

They sit in classrooms.

They hear comments.

They carry expectations they don’t understand —

from people who think they’re helping.

And slowly… it builds.

Not because they’re not coping —

but because they haven’t been given the space to.

This episode is just me…

talking about that pressure,

and why “back to normal” isn’t always the safest place for a child to land.

In this episode of In the Heart of the Vault, Nicola shares the deeply personal journey that began when her baby boy Louie was born prematurely at 32 weeks.

Just days after his birth, Louie’s intestine twisted and strangulated, leaving only 8cm of small intestine able to be saved after multiple emergency surgeries.

Nicola and her husband were told to prepare for palliative care.

They were warned that continuing treatment could prolong suffering and that letting him go may be the kinder option.

But Nicola trusted her instinct as a mother.

What followed was eight months in hospital, navigating life in survival mode, making impossible decisions, and learning how to advocate for their son while holding their family together.

Today, Louie is exceeding expectations.

This conversation explores the raw reality of motherhood in medical crisis, the grief parents carry behind closed doors, the strength it takes to advocate for your child, and the deep trust that can grow when you learn to listen to your intuition.

Nicola shares what it means to walk through uncertainty, resilience, and the parts of motherhood that are rarely spoken about.

Disclaimer

The experiences shared in this episode reflect the personal journey and perspectives of the guest. This conversation is intended to share lived experience and raise awareness and should not be considered medical advice. If you have medical concerns, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.

Listener discretion is advised as this episode includes discussion of neonatal illness, medical trauma, and hospitalisation.

✨ New Episode — with Amanda from @AddictionMakesthree

This conversation opens the vault on the side of addiction most people never talk about — the impact it has on the partners, the families, and the people silently holding everything together behind closed doors.

Amanda shares the hidden reality of living alongside someone in addiction:

the chaos, the hyper-vigilance, the constant checking, the broken trust, the cancelled plans, the emotional whiplash, and the feeling of slowly losing yourself in someone else’s struggle.

She speaks for anyone who has ever found themselves asking:

“Is tonight going to be okay?”

“Can I trust what they’re saying?”

“Why do I feel like I’m the problem?”

“How did their addiction turn me into someone I don’t even recognise anymore?”

This episode isn’t about blaming.

It’s about understanding the emotional cost of living with addiction — any addiction — and the toll it takes on your identity, your stability, and your sense of safety.

It’s for the people who love deeply, carry silently, and finally reach the moment they realise:

You didn’t cause it.

You can’t control it.

And you don’t have to lose yourself trying to fix it.

🎧 Listen now on In The Heart of the Vault

Available on Spotify

This conversation hit differently.

You know those episodes where it doesn’t feel like an interview — it feels like two women sitting together, soul-to-soul, honouring the truth of what life can take… and what it can give back?

Phoebe Stuart’s life changed in a single moment.

First year of uni. Healthy. Happy. Future laid out in front of her.

Then — an unexpected medical emergency that placed her in ICU for five weeks and set off a chain of consequences most of us can’t imagine living through.

Phoebe became a triple amputee.

She was left legally blind.

Her body was burned, traumatised, reshaped.

And then… she rebuilt everything.

She became a lawyer.

A public speaker.

A mentor.

A mother.

A woman who leads with grace, humour, perspective and fire.

This isn’t a story about tragedy — it’s a story about choosing life every day, even when life doesn’t look like what you planned.

It is one of the most open, honest, belly-to-belly conversations I’ve had inside In the Heart of the Vault.

I walked away changed — and I know you will too.

🎧 Episode now live.

Please listen. Please share.

Someone you know needs her story.

https://www.instagram.com/phoebsgram?igsh=cTd5dGpkYTZlb2Vt

Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussion of domestic and gender-based violence, including physical assault. Please take care while listening. Support service links are provided below.

In this deeply moving episode, Simone O’Brien shares her journey of survival after a brutal act of domestic violence that almost took her life.

What happened to Simone is confronting — but what she’s done since is extraordinary. From fighting for her recovery to becoming a national advocate and public speaker, Simone has transformed unthinkable pain into powerful purpose.

https://www.simoneobrien.com.au/

Today, she uses her voice to raise awareness, to educate, and to remind survivors that there is life after violence. Her message is one of strength, hope, and unwavering courage.

This is not just a story about what was taken from her — it’s a story about what she rebuilt, and the lives she continues to touch.

If this episode brings up any feelings for you, please reach out. You are not alone.

💛 This episode of “In the Heart of the Vault” was created to honour stories that matter, amplify voices that deserve to be heard, and shine light where silence once lived.

⸻

🌏 Support Services & Helplines

🇦🇺 Australia – 1800RESPECT (https://www.1800respect.org.au/) — 1800 737 732 (24/7 National Helpline)

🇳🇿 New Zealand – Shine Helpline (https://www.2shine.org.nz/) — 0508 744 633

🇬🇧 United Kingdom – National Domestic Abuse Helpline (https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/) — 0808 2000 247

🇺🇸 United States – National Domestic Violence Hotline (https://www.thehotline.org/) — 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call emergency services (000 in Australia, 111 in New Zealand, 999 in the UK, or 911 in the US).

In this powerful episode, Margot Priestly opens up about the nightmare her family has endured. When her step-children’s mother was sentenced for murdering her partner, it might have seemed like an ending — but for Margot, the ripple effect was only beginning. Despite a life sentence, parental control remained, leaving Margot and her family to navigate the ongoing impact of domestic violence and its echoes long after the verdict

In this powerful episode, Margot Priestly opens up about the nightmare her family has endured. When her step-children’s mother was sentenced for murdering her partner, it might have seemed like an ending — but for Margot, the ripple effect was only beginning. Despite a life sentence, parental control remained, leaving Margot and her family to navigate the ongoing impact of domestic violence and its echoes long after the verdict

This week on In the Heart of the Vault, we sit down with Donna Thistlethwaite to continue the story first shared in Australian Story’s episode “The Bridge.”

This conversation explores love, loss, mental health, and the courage to keep going. It touches on suicide and sensitive topics, so please listen with care. 💛

If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available:

    •    Lifeline Australia: 13 11 14

    •    Samaritans (UK): 116 123

    •    988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (US): Call or text 988

You are not alone. 💛

find more on donna's story here:

⁠https://donnathistlethwaite.com.au/⁠

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnathistlethwaite?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app⁠

⁠https://mentallywellthy.com.au/⁠

In this deeply personal solo episode, host Lindsay Taylor opens her heart and reflects on what it’s really like to live with loss — long after the funeral, the flowers, and the “checking in” texts stop.She speaks about what it feels like when the world remembers your person on the anniversary… but no one sees the pain in the quiet, ordinary days in between.This is an unfiltered, honest look at grief that continues to shape her — and the soft strength it takes to keep living.🎙 In the Heart of the Vault is a podcast holding space for every kind of grief.

Grief doesn’t only come after death — it comes when love ends, too. In this raw and relatable episode, Lisa Jenkinson opens up about the deep grief she felt after the end of a significant relationship. From losing the future she thought she was building, to rebuilding her identity from the ground up, Lisa shares how heartbreak shattered her — and how she slowly began to heal. If you’ve ever felt like a breakup broke you open, this conversation will hold you gently and remind you: you’re not crazy, you’re grieving.💔 New episodes of In the Heart of the Vault drop weekly. Subscribe to listen.