Strength of Ten By the grace of God, working the Steps and using the Tools, I have been free from the compulsion to overeat for four years, one day at a time. And I would like to keep it that way. Recently, I was traveling: I went through seven time zones, which challenged my routine. I know this is a program of action … Read More
Any Distance, Any Length “Any form of service—no matter how small— that helps reach a fellow sufferer adds to the quality of our own recovery.” —The Tools of Recovery Six months ago, I moved, leaving behind the OA meeting that had been my home for five years—my strong, healthy meeting full of abstinent recovery and knowledge of the Twelve Steps. There are meetings in … Read More
Starting Days with For Today My favorite OA book is For Today: I love it because it helps me begin each day with recovery in mind. Reading it makes me part of a huge OA community; we’re all reading the same thing each morning. For Today demonstrates in a tangible way how many days have passed in the year and how many are left, which reminds … Read More
Writing Voices of Recovery OA literature plays a large part in my recovery from compulsive eating. We’ve made many changes, and helping with the development of Voices of Recovery connected me with OA members around the world. It was my chance to express myself through writing and to read other members’ ideas. Creation of this publication started in 1998, when members were asked to … Read More
Sharing Stories Thank you for Lifeline magazine. My latest issue arrived two days ago, and, as always, it gave me insight, contact, Tools, and a feeling of connection. About fourteen years ago, I lived in Houston, Texas. I was sick of my obsessive eating behavior and sick of resorting to strict diets or fasts to make up for bingeing. I had heard … Read More
Close Enough At the end of our meetings, our group leader usually says, “After a moment of silence for compulsive overeaters who are still suffering, please join me in the OA Promise.” But one night, it came out like this: “After a moment of suffering for compulsive overeaters who are still silent . . .” It felt good to laugh together at … Read More
Being There We once had a large group. Slowly it got smaller until we were just two. We thought seriously of closing our meeting, but it was our time to get together (we’d even have supper after). So we continued to meet for several years. One day, three members who had dropped out of OA ten years earlier came back. We were there … Read More
Building Blocks My “home” has been under renovation for the past sixty-five years. When I first walked into OA rooms in 1977, my home was mangled, beaten down, and full of holes. My efforts alone were not working, but it was hard to trust the process. I had failed so many times, and I did not want to wait—I was constantly frustrated. … Read More
Sponsorship I reach out my palm and you touch my heart. Together we make a valiant start. We guard against any halfway measure As we embark on this journey together. We’re raising the banner for spiritual living, Changing our actions from taking to giving. Our hands and our minds retreat from the fridge; The past becomes water under the bridge. Taking … Read More
All of This Is Okay I’m afraid I’ll do it wrong. I’m afraid my sponsees will find out I’m a fraud. What if they don’t like me, won’t do what I tell them, or don’t become abstinent? What if I have to dedicate all my free time to them? What if they contact me constantly and I can’t say no? What if they ask questions … Read More
