Corrupt voice memo

I'm a journalist and sometimes use the Voice Memos app on my iPhone. I currently have one file, an important one for a story I'm currently writing, that will not play back. It shows as 6:57 long but when I play it, nothing happens. No error message. It just won't play.

Tried sending to my Mac and it wouldn't let itself be shared. It says, "Preparing Failed. [the file] is being optimized for sharing at this time." But it never lets me share it, even days later. I made a copy of the file, but it's exactly the same. I was able to get both files to my computer using iExplorer, but they won't play in any app I have (iTunes, QuickTime, VLC).

Anybody have suggestions?

Looks like I won't be able to continue using Voice Memos for work, as this can't happen again. In the meantime, I really need to get this file to play. Thanks for any ideas you may have.