Keep Coming Back Out of Compliance I’m not happy to say I’m working on surrender. The way I grew up, it was about doing better every time. Quitting was never a…
Relationships 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 over…
Twelfth Step Within Designating a Position Within Twelfth Step Within Day is coming! What will you be doing on December 12? On the twelfth day of the twelfth month every year…
Relationships Personality vs. Principle Tradition Twelve—Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all these Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before…
Fellowship An IDEA Once Planted On September 12, 1991, I completed thirty days of abstinence, answered my 30-day OA-HOW questions, and I “stepped up.” To ce…
Relationships 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…
Higher Power Agnostic in the Lifeboat The first thing I ever identified with in the Big Book was the chapter “We Agnostics” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., pp. 44…
Relapse Ending the Residual Battle The knowledge of Step One is that I am truly powerless over food. To admit this deeply within myself took three years! In my…
Recovery Around the World OA from A to Z December 2009: I was eating my way through the holidays, agonizing over not being able to control myself after more than twe…
Fellowship Service is Showing Up Our Christmas Day marathon took place at an addiction resource center from 10 a.m. until noon. Among the eight people in att…
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