From Syncope to Sobriety & the Power of Creative Recovery with Judd Midlam | Episode 512From Syncope to Sobriety & the Power of Creative Recovery with Judd Midlam | Episode 512
The Way Out | A Sobriety & Recovery Podcast
Judd Midlam talks about moving from long-term alcohol dependence to three years of sobriety, using creativity, faith and family life to reshape his future. He also outlines his novel Syncope, which blends a fictional recovery journey with questions about AI, new medications and free will in addiction.
1:26:49•27 Jul 2026
From Syncope to Sobriety: Judd Midlam on Creative Recovery and Free Will
Episode Overview
- Stopping at "just don't drink" each day keeps the foundation of recovery simple and clear.
- Filling time with meaningful goals like writing, exercise and relationships helps replace old drinking patterns.
- Early mornings, coffee, reading and quiet reflection can become powerful recovery anchors.
- Connection to God, love and community remains vital, even as science develops new treatments for addiction.
- Sharing honest, creative stories about addiction and sobriety can help others feel less alone and more hopeful.
“I was using this stuff for the bad times, but I can't even deal with good times without it either. Like, this is way out of whack.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? In this conversation on *The Way Out | A Sobriety & Recovery Podcast*, author and pharmacist Judd Midlam lays out how a seemingly "successful" party lifestyle slowly hollowed out his life, and how one shocking celebration became the turning point. Judd describes growing up in an alcohol-soaked culture where drinking was normal and high achievement in school and sport let him hide a growing dependency.
His move to Southern California and then Puerto Rico only turned the volume up: more clubs, more travel, more designer substances, yet very little lasting meaning. The real wake-up call came when a major career win left him celebrating like always, then waking up to chaos. As he puts it, "I was using this stuff for the bad times, but I can't even deal with good times without it either.
Like, this is way out of whack." From that moment he committed to sobriety, pouring his energy into early mornings, exercise and a bold creative project: writing his novel *Syncope*. The book follows a "terrible drunk" in the pharma industry who rises fast, crashes hard, and gets involved with an AI-driven drug discovery platform that finds a molecule which slows time perception.
Through this fictional lens, Judd plays with big questions about consciousness, free will, neurodivergence and the future of addiction treatment, while staying brutally honest about those first raw months without alcohol. You’ll also hear how reading the Bible front-to-back supported his recovery, why he and his now-wife both chose to stop drinking, and how family life, creativity and community keep his "high motor" pointed in a healthier direction.
If you’ve ever wondered whether your ambition and your drinking are at war with each other, Judd’s story might be the nudge you’ve been waiting for—what new chapter could sobriety help you write?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.