Steps Outsourcing “In OA we learn that a lack of willpower isn’t what makes us compulsive overeaters. In fact, compulsive overeaters often exh…
Steps Step One Relief On May 28, 2017, I attended my first OA meeting. The courage to attend arose when I discovered the pamphlet Maintaining a He…
Relapse & Recovery All-In Abstinence Planning Lately, I have been comparing my OA journey to someone else who has decades of abstinence. I know through working the Steps …
Traditions Anyplace Attraction Tradition Eleven—Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal …
Relationships 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 sur…
Spirituality The Sum of One and One Step Eleven—Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying onl…
Fellowship Our Small But Mighty IDEA Our IDEA celebration last year was a small but mighty gathering of recovering compulsive eaters, both newcomers and long tim…
Anorexia & Bulimia Not “Too” Scale “Scale Sanity” (July 2017, pp. 8-9) describes very well some of my own crazy behavior with scales, and the writer discovered…
Spirituality Clarity Without Certainty “Our path in OA transcends weight loss and a return to emotional health.” — Seeking the Spiritual Path I have been in progra…
Relapse & Recovery Surrender for Freedom I felt fat from the time I was in kindergarten. Though only slightly heavier than other girls, I was obsessed with my size. …
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