WHAT IS LYMBIC
Most people in recovery content tells you how to get sober.
We make content for what comes after that.
The meetings. The milestones. And then — the long, strange, sometimes lonely work of figuring out who you actually are without the thing that used to define you.
Lymbic is a media platform built on that question. We produce podcasts, short films, live events, and written stories from people who have lived through the wreckage and kept moving. Real voices. Real experience. No scripts, no platitudes, no pretending it's easy.
We are not a treatment program. We are not a helpline. We are what comes after: content that keeps you company, a community that tells the truth, and a creative space that proves recovery is the beginning of something, not the end.
Recovery isn't a destination. It's a creative act.
WHAT YOU'LL FIND
LISTEN The Not All There podcast. Hosted by Chad Johnson. Raw, honest, and occasionally hilarious. Addiction, identity, sobriety, and the human brain — with guests who have something real to say. → Start listening
READ Essays, stories, and first-person accounts from people in recovery. Written for the person who has done the hard part and still doesn't quite know what they're supposed to feel. → Read stories
WATCH Short films and video content — sober travel, creative expression, the mundane magic of building a life without a substance in it. Coming at you honest. → Watch now
CONNECT The Sober Soirees. Live storytelling. A community of people in various stages of the same imperfect journey. Show up as you are. Stay because it matters. → Find your people
Not All There Podcast
The Podcast That Doesn't Pretend It's Simple
Not All There is the flagship podcast of Lymbic — and it sounds exactly like what recovery actually feels like: complicated, funny, sometimes raw, always real. Hosted by Chad Johnson, certified recovery coach and eleven-plus years sober, each episode goes somewhere most recovery conversations won't.
Neuroscientists. Clinicians. Comedians. Sober travelers. Musicians. Policy leaders. People rebuilding their lives in ways nobody expected. The conversation doesn't stop when the episode does.
We all wear a mask. This is the story of my mask.
Behind the face the world sees, there lies a hidden shield — a mask shaped by experiences, fears, hopes, and dreams. It is both a protector and a barrier, an identity forged in silence.
Each day, this mask adapts to the moments I face. Sometimes it conceals vulnerability, other times it reveals quiet strength. It tells a story not of who I am, but of who I choose to be when the eyes around me judge or misunderstand.
This is not a mask of deception, but one of survival and resilience. It reminds me that beneath every mask is a true self waiting to be understood — patiently, silently, waiting for the right moment to be seen.
To lose everything and never speak about it may lead to a long road in life. Silence can become a heavy burden, shaping one's path with unresolved pain. Confronting loss openly may shorten the journey toward healing.
Chad Johnson speaks at the first Sober Soiree
Stories Live. So Do We.
The Sober Soirees are live storytelling events for people who want to be in a room where honesty is the admission ticket. No pretense. No pitch. Just real people, real stories, and the surprising feeling that you belong somewhere.
Upcoming events on Chicago's North Shore and beyond.
→ See upcoming events
