7 Years 134 days - Man of God7 Years 134 days - Man of God
I'm Quitting Alcohol
Comedian David Boyle talks about an hour spent alone in a Cambridge church, his growing sense of faith, and his plans to strip back smartphone use as part of his sobriety. The episode mixes humour with quiet reflection on silence, prayer, and the search for mental calm in recovery.
8:11•26 Sept 2026
Locked in a Church and Loving It: Faith, Silence and Sobriety
Episode Overview
- Quiet, beautiful church spaces can offer a powerful break from everyday noise, even for those unsure about religion.
- Taking time alone, such as an hour sitting and praying or just staring, can support reflection in sobriety.
- Reading other people’s written prayers may highlight how often people express care and concern for others.
- Simple changes like considering a minimalist phone can help reduce digital distractions and support mental health.
- Humour and honesty about spiritual curiosity can coexist with serious alcohol recovery work.
“Even if you don’t believe in God or religion or whatever, it’s so nice just to sit in silence.”
What insights can experts and survivors share about addiction? Here, Australian comedian David Boyle offers his own raw take, talking through faith, silence, and technology in sobriety, all within his usual five-minute, no-filter style. You’ll hear Boyle joke that you’re “sitting here with captain epiphany and sergeant synchronicity”, as he admits he’s been “shielding myself from epiphanies” for years and now feels flooded with them. The heart of this episode is his growing sense of connection to God.
He describes “getting closer and closer to God” and shares how that led him to spend an hour alone in Saint Paul’s Cathedral in Cambridge while his son was at wrestling. Boyle paints a vivid picture of the church as “this giant beautiful building” that’s completely empty, right in the middle of Harvard Square’s hustle and burrito-fuelled chaos.
He talks about the smell of “old treated wood”, the warmth, the stained glass light and the simple comfort of sitting in silence.
Even for those who don’t buy into religion, he thinks just being there is worthwhile: “even if you don’t believe in God or religion or whatever, it’s so nice just to sit in silence.” There’s a funny twist too: he gets accidentally locked inside, wanders around reading the prayer books, and jokes they trusted “the man of God” to let himself out.
Alongside this spiritual curiosity, Boyle shares a practical move towards mental calm, saying he’s looking at buying a minimalist “wise phone” with “only the essentials” so he can be “free from the bondage of technology”. For anyone in recovery who’s juggling big questions about faith, quiet, and how much phone time is messing with their head, this short, honest episode might spark a few of their own epiphanies. How might silence and simple spaces help your sobriety journey?
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