A Gift from Grace Before I returned to OA in 1999, my life was a prison of my own making, and I had no visitors. It was a world of isolation because all I trusted was food and how good it made me feel in the moments I was consuming it. My compulsive overeating began when I was 5 and a half years old. … Read More
Changes on the Inside Before I came to OA, my life looked pretty good from the outside: I had a job, friends, and a normal body weight. But inside, I was often fearful. I was disconnected from others, and I felt inadequate. I engaged in various compulsive food behaviors. Over the years my compulsive eating had gone up and down, but it was always … Read More
The Best Possible Place Step Twelve—Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive overeaters and to practice these principles in all our affairs. The Step Twelve chapter (pp. 99–106) in The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous talks about being no longer controlled by or afraid of food. The fact is God … Read More
Personality vs. Principle Tradition Twelve—Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all these Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities. Tradition Twelve has made a huge difference in my life. I began coming to OA regularly eighteen years ago, but I had some difficulties implementing the program. I could not seem to become abstinent. I did not feel like I really understood … Read More
Strong Force of Support Dear Sponsor, I received an outreach call from you at a time when I was grappling with the idea of never going back to OA. I was struggling with a few of my defects, and because I felt overwhelmed by them, it was easy for me to blame another party for my relapse into my old patterns of eating. I … Read More
A Lead Counsel’s Deposition Surrender . . . surrender to the program, surrender to a Higher Power—for some reason, I have found it very difficult to surrender. I am a man. I am an attorney. No one becomes an attorney by accident. It takes years of hard work and dedication. My profession is filled with strong-willed people who want to be in control. I … Read More
Placed Where I Belong I stand naked in front of a well-lit, full-length mirror every morning, throw my hands into the air, and say, “I surrender to the possibilities of this day.” Then I thank God for getting my “sturdy” body up and going once again. Though I have a lot of health challenges, the minimum basics of my daily action plan haven’t changed: … Read More
In Losing, Men Win In my three years of coming to the rooms of Overeaters Anonymous, I’ve been moved by the profound ways I see the power of God working in the lives of my brothers. As a former church worker, I thought I had a corner on the God business. Was I ever wrong! Whether I’m in my Sunday morning men’s meeting or … Read More
Loner No Longer “I never have to be alone again . . .” It was June 1989: I was powerless over food and my life was unmanageable. I had just lost forty pounds (18 kg) again and quickly gained ten pounds (5 kg) back. I was on my way up the scale and full of anger and rage. I felt totally helpless, hopeless, … Read More
Feeling Present We buried Bibs today. He was almost 20 years old. Bibs helped me with my OA program in death and in life. Alive, he opened me to the insanity of my anger at his being a cat, insistent about being fed on his schedule, not mine. Writing about my anger, I discovered I was angry about my own food plan. … Read More