BeTempered Episode 128 – Faith After a 10-Year Prison Sentence with Amy Hicks

  She kept working. She stayed involved in her community. From the outside, Amy Hicks looked like she was doing fine. In private, she was hiding a meth addiction that stretched across decades.  

In BeTempered Episode 128, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr talk with Amy about the life people saw, the addiction they didn’t, and what happened when she could no longer keep the two separate. 

 Growing up on a farm in rural Indiana, Amy had a strong church background and a deep desire to belong. She shares how alcohol, cocaine, and eventually meth became part of her story, even as she continued meeting the responsibilities that made her life appear stable. Behind that appearance, addiction was taking a toll on her marriage, parenting, and relationships. 

 An arrest brought the private struggle into public view. Facing jail and overwhelming shame, Amy entered long-term, faith-based treatment at House of Ruth. There, she began learning how to be honest, accept unconditional love, and build a relationship with Jesus that went deeper than the traditions she had grown up with. 

 Then came a 10-year prison sentence.  

Amy opens up about the doubt, grief, and despair that followed, and the surrender that changed how she approached her time behind bars. Through faith-based programs and a Bible Reading Marathon she organized inside prison, she found opportunities to serve other women, including some who had never opened a Bible.

  We also talk about the work that continues after release: serving as a recovery leader, building support groups, pursuing expungement, and setting boundaries so helping others doesn’t become burnout. 

This is an honest conversation about hidden addiction, public consequences, faith, and rebuilding a life. For anyone struggling in silence or trying to understand someone who is, Amy’s story offers a reason to keep going. 

 Subscribe to BeTempered, share this episode with someone who needs hope, and leave a review with the part of Amy’s story that stayed with you.