Recovery Gift of Empathy I have gained many gifts from the OA program and recently realized a new one: empathy. I’m not sure I ever had true empathy.…
Recovery Ideals in Action I’ve been working on my food ideals (how I want to behave around food) and asking God to help me. Since I forget sometimes h…
Recovery Continuing to Grow I recently attended our local OA Unity Day celebration about an hour away from my home. On the drive to get there, I had tim…
Recovery Sunshine Ahead I began praying daily for addicts all over the world—my latest mission of the heart, but I didn’t know the compassion I was …
Recovery Pot of Gold If it weren’t for OA, I wouldn’t be able to see. I’m not blind, but the fog of compulsive overeating blinded me. By maintain…
Recovery Glimmer of Hope It was December, and I had hit my bottom. My despair and anguish were monumental and unrelenting. I had tried every conceiva…
Recovery Paying It Forward My first day in OA, I was desperate and hopeless. I had reached bottom and thought I could not recover. After that first mee…
Recovery Not What I Was I always suffered from feelings of not belonging and not being good enough, and I was always the biggest one in my class. Wh…
Recovery Program Truths There are lies I tell myself and truth the program teaches me: The “I don’t care how I look” lie—the truth is, I do care, an…
How OA Changed My Life Living Proof I came into this program over twenty years ago. My disease didn’t show in my body—I looked “normal,” whatever that was. But …
How OA Changed My Life Recovery True Freedom When a fellow OA member suggested I reflect on what true freedom looks like for me, I discovered I could probably write a book. Before OA, I truly felt I already had it in the form of a solid career, … Read More
Higher Power Spirituality Stepping-Stones, Nuggets, and Gems Spirituality is the solution to our problem of powerlessness, and we find this solution in the Twelve Step program of recovery. I’ve experienced three stepping-stones in this process: Amen, Amends, Am… Read More
The Road Narrows My twenty-ninth birthday in OA is approaching, and it is cause for renewed reflection about my program. I spoke to my sponsor a week ago and mentioned to her that I was thinking of not taking a candle this year. Other OA members on their birthdays pitch about life changes: weddings, kids, jobs, financial gain, or acquisition of cars. I … Read More
Share It: Powerful Shares, Joyful Reading, Pages and Prayers Powerful Shares I wanted to share how sad I am to hear about the discontinuation of Lifeline. It has literally been a lifeline to me. I am one of the ones who answered your 2018 subscription appeal, and I recently renewed my subscription and will cherish every last issue. Thank you for the articles about “The Joys of Retreats and … Read More
Recovery Beyond Measure In a few days, I will celebrate thirty-eight years of recovery in OA. Today my goal is health, sanity, and wellness, not a size 8. Physically, my body has been a normal size for many years. G-d has removed the compulsion for what I call “the hard stuff”—the stuff you see at the grocery checkout counter. I have reached a … Read More