Thirty-eight years sober. Still figuring things out.
This Substack is where I explore what it means to live authentically—without religious dogma, empty formulas, or performative nonsense. I write about recovery, movement as spiritual practice, and the culture and music that shaped a generation for better and worse.
No paywalls. No guru bullshit. Just honest writing for people tired of shallow answers.
What You’ll Find:
Recovery & Sobriety: Decades of lived experience without the AA orthodoxy. What actually works when you strip away the dogma.
Movement & Discipline: Fitness as a practice of showing up, not vanity.
Music & Culture: Rock history, cultural criticism, and why the art we consume matters.
Philosophy & Reality: Practical wisdom for navigating the messy business of being human.
What You Won’t Find:
Motivational platitudes
Seven-step formulas
Content optimized for algorithms instead of truth
Subscribe for weekly explorations. Sometimes it’s prog rock. Sometimes it’s sobriety. Always honest.
Who I Am:
Former corporate survivor who’s been sober since 1987. I teach fitness, write across multiple platforms, and have zero patience for dogma from any tradition.
My other work:
PauseWhenAgitated.com — Recovery writing for skeptics and seekers
JimStalker.com — My central content hub
Quora — Essays read by more than half a million readers
