Episode 040 - From Survival to Surrender: How a Landscape Painter Found Creative Freedom Through Healing

The Sober Creative Podcast · Feb 13, 2026 · 36m

What happens when a creative person spends years completely shut down — unable to work, unable to feel, unable to create? For Justin Donaldson, a landscape artist who now travels the United States in a camper with his family, the answer was a long and honest journey through trauma, therapy, and transformation. Justin grew up in a cult, experienced serious abuse, and spent years pushing through life without ever being taught to process what happened to him. When he finally found financial safety, his body sent him a message he couldn’t ignore: it was time to deal with everything.

Justin’s…