PUNK ROCK SOBER
PUNK ROCK SOBER
Painful Lessons
My 7-Year-Old Climbed a Fence to Find Me - Stephen Hilton
1 hour 18 minutes Posted Aug 10, 2026 at 11:27 pm.
The Life He Blew Up
“I Thought I Had 10 Years. It Was 8.”
One Lie for Anxiety Pills
The Three Most Dangerous Words
“I'm Not Going to Do What You Say”
Rehab, and No Next of Kin
Two Rehabs at Once
The First Rock Bottom (Years Earlier)
The Son Who Climbed the Fence
What Kids Remember
Wizard School
Co-Parenting by the Al-Anon Book
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Stephen Hilton had a life most people would kill for — eight years clean, two kids, a scoring career on Hans Zimmer's team (Megamind, Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean), and a viral comedy empire he built with his wife, Laura Clery. Then a contractor walked off with the money on a house renovation, COVID sent his meetings to a screen he wouldn't open, and one lie to a doctor for anxiety pills started a cascade that took almost all of it: Xanax, Adderall, painkillers, alcohol, the marriage, and eventually his kids.
This is the whole arc, in his own words — the relapse after years clean, the year he doesn't fully recognize, and the moment that finally turned him around: his nonverbal, severely autistic seven-year-old son, Alfie, climbing over a fence and being found at the grocery store between their two houses, trying to reach his dad. Two days shy of a year clean at this recording, Stephen talks about rebuilding co-parenting with Laura “by the Al-Anon book,” the “wizard school” story he told his daughter, and what it actually took to come back.
In this episode:
· The dream life — Hans Zimmer's scoring team, and building Laura Clery's following from a spare camera
· “I thought I had 10 years. My sponsor pointed out it was really 8.”
· The three most dangerous words: “I got this”
· Checking into rehab with no next of kin
· The son who climbed the fence, and why it was the thing that finally worked
· Co-parenting rebuilt “by the Al-Anon book” — boundaries, the restraining order, not robbing someone of their rock bottom
· The “wizard school” story
· Nine meetings a week, and doing AI animation with his kids now
If you or someone you love is struggling, you're not alone. In the US, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or SAMHSA's free helpline at 1-800-662-4357.
Guest: Stephen Hilton — film composer & online creator
Host: Tyler Ramsey
Laura Clery's book, What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Hotter (Simon & Schuster)
Nothing in this episode is medical advice; it's one person's story.
#PunkRockSober #PainfulLessons #StephenHilton #LauraClery #Sobriety #Recovery #Relapse #CoParenting #Autism #MentalHealth