7 Years 34 days Sober - NJ

7 Years 34 days Sober - NJ

Get ready to be moved by real-life accounts of sobriety that somehow include getting lost in New Jersey. This short daily episode catches Australian comedian David Boyle sitting in a Trenton hotel car park, seven years and 34 days sober, trying to make sense of the Garden State and its industrial estates, freeways and fast-food strips.

Boyle’s style is raw, sweary and unfiltered, so you’ll feel like you’re in the passenger seat as he vents about his seven-hour drive and a GPS that “ran us through New York City during peak hour and completely fuck[ed] us.” From there, he riffs on first impressions of New Jersey: more “fat people” than Boston, endless highways, Indian neighbourhoods that remind him of Australia, and motel pockets that feel strangely cut off from anything interesting.

In between the rants, there are flashes of curiosity and humour.

He jokes about New Jersey being chosen for the World Cup final — “we’ll bomb the shit out of that place” — wonders about the swamplands near New York, and admits he has “no idea what’s going on here” but plans to “investigate Nj tomorrow and get back to you.” For anyone in recovery, the appeal here is the consistency and honesty: a sober mind processing ordinary chaos, one day at a time, with no script and no polish.

It’s aimed at people who like their recovery talk laced with sharp comedy, road-trip gripes and off-the-cuff cultural commentary rather than neat, motivational speeches. If you like the idea of sobriety documented in real time through jet lag, long drives, and random American towns, this little snapshot of Boyle’s day in New Jersey might be exactly the dose of honesty and dark humour you need.

Ever wondered what day-to-day sober life actually sounds like when someone hits record and just talks?