Aaron Sorkin Reveals He Suffered A Near-Fatal Stroke Last Year

We almost lost a great writer and director last year and we are only just finding out about it now. Aaron Sorkin is on the mend after having a stroke.

The Molly’s Game writer suffered a serious stroke last November, Sorkin detailed the scary moment in his life with the New York Times ahead of the release of his new film Camelot. He first began to think something was off with his body when he began “crashing into walls and corners.”

He discovered that his blood pressure was so high he was “supposed to be dead.” He saw the moment as a huge “loud wake-up call.” The West Wing creator believed that he was truly invincible.

“I thought I was one of those people who could eat whatever he wanted, smoke as much as he wanted, and it’s not going to affect me. Boy, was I wrong.” Turning things around, the director has vowed to make lifestyle changes.

Well, not new… different. Following the stroke, the 61-year-old quit smoking without tapering off, and he started exercising daily, “I take a lot of medicine. You can hear the pills rattling around in me,” he joked with the publication.

Sorkin initially planned to keep his diagnosis to himself but instead realized it could help someone out there see the signs before their health takes a turn for the worst. The Oscar winner went into a spiral at one point wondering if he would ever write again.

“There was a minute when I was concerned that I was never going to be able to write again. And I was concerned in the short-term that I wasn’t going to be able to continue writing 'Camelot.’” He says of the Broadway musical set to premiere in April.

The director shared that physically, he couldn’t write. Until recently he couldn’t even sign his name. The ability is slowly coming back and Sorkin thanks eager fans wanting autographs for that.

As for tasting food, it’s a struggle for Sorkin. But he doesn’t want any sympathy for his situation because he is on the up and up. “Let me make this very, very clear. I’m fine. I wouldn’t want anyone to think I can’t work. I’m fine.”

Sorkin is used to dealing with struggles in his life and giving up some of his pleasures has become no big deal for him. He battled a cocaine addiction for several years and it has given him the confidence to push through.

“My big fear when I quit drugs was that I wouldn’t be able to write anymore,” he said back in 2017. “Because if you’re a writer and you’re on a roll – and I was on a roll when I was high – you don’t want to change anything about the way you work.”

He has been sober for 11 years now and it is what contributed to him pushing this current setback. The A Few Good Men writer is getting out there more and gaining back the confidence needed to move forward.