Rob Murdock (In Recovery)
Rob Murdock (In Recovery)

Drugs Did This

Retired journalist Chip Womick talks with Rob Murdock about his decades-long relationship with alcohol, from teenage drinking to two public intoxication arrests and job loss. Rob reflects on entering rehab, strengthening his faith and reaching five years of sobriety while remaining realistic about how fragile change can be.

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1:14:42•13 May 2026

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From Liquid Courage to Lasting Sobriety: Rob Murdock’s Story

Episode Overview

Alcohol problems can build slowly over years, even when work, family life and health seem mostly intact on the surface.
Binge drinkers may go six or seven months without alcohol and still return to extremely dangerous patterns when they start again.
Legal trouble, health scares and family pain do not always trigger change, but honest conversations and a direct offer of treatment sometimes can.
Rehab brings together people from many professions and backgrounds, showing that addiction cuts across class and status.
Staying alcohol-free can coexist with social and work events where others drink, especially with a strong support system and clear personal boundaries.

“If you’re going to drink, and that’s how you want to live your life, be good at it. Do it the best you can. But if you don’t, there is a way out.”

What are the common struggles and victories in addiction recovery? This conversation between retired journalist Chip Womick and Asheboro native Rob Murdock offers a very real look at how alcohol can quietly run your life for decades before you admit anything is wrong.

Rob shares how his drinking started at 13 or 14 with “chugging games” at home, then grew through high school parties, fraternity life at Lenoir-Rhyne, and a career in the electrical industry where entertaining clients with long boozy lunches was basically part of the job.

He jokes about thinking alcohol gave him “liquid courage” and a sense of control, then bluntly calls that idea “a joke.” Across the chat, you’ll hear how binge drinking, two arrests for public intoxication, health scares, and a divorce still weren’t quite enough to convince Rob he had a serious problem. The turning point came when he lost his job and his mum calmly asked if he’d go to treatment if she paid.

Her relief when he said yes stayed with him. As he puts it, “If you’re going to drink, and that’s how you want to live your life, be good at it… But if you don’t, there is a way out.” Rob talks about rehab at Fellowship Hall, the shock of meeting people from every walk of life in treatment, and the stark warning that many in his group wouldn’t survive the next year.

He also shares how his faith deepened, how he rebuilt his career, and what it’s like to be five years alcohol-free and completely fine being around others who drink. This episode suits anyone who’s wondering if their ‘weekend drinking’ might be more than that, as well as families who love someone caught in alcohol use. It’s blunt, honest and quietly hopeful. Could Rob’s story be the nudge you or someone you care about needs today?

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