Relationships Steps Stepping into a Vocation After thirty years in OA, I’m still deeply grateful that I’ve been able to keep off more than 150 pounds (68 kg). A critical…
Relationships Steps Ready or Not Last year, I reached Step Nine and had seven amends to make. I made five of them months ago. The two that are left are my pa…
Recovery Working the Program Applied Lessons I came to my first Twelve Step fellowship and got sober in 1983. G-d put a lovely woman in my life in my second year of reco…
Sponsoring Tools & Concepts Lesson for a Simple Approach I am currently three and a half years abstinent and working Steps Ten, Eleven, and Twelve to the best of my ability, one day…
Anonymity Tools & Concepts Unity, Community, and Recovery The OA-HOW structured meeting format says to avoid sharing with others the names of anyone who sponsors me or whom I sponsor…
Anonymity Tools & Concepts Sharing Ourselves Did you know that the opposite of anonymous is “onymous”? How different would our lives be if we were Overeaters Onymous? I …
Diversity Newcomers Push from Within I am working through Step One with my sponsor. She suggested that I submit these two responses to her prompts: Write on the …
Diversity Bariatric Surgery I am having bariatric surgery. Is there an OA bariatric surgery support group? “Bariatric Surgery” is listed as a specific f…
Sponsoring Tools & Concepts Lending What Was Offered When I began OA in October 2000, I chose a sponsor who had what I wanted. She shared her experience of working through the S…
Recovery Working the Program Surrender and Accountability When I finally realized that my behaviors with food (overindulging, hiding, sneaking, and lying) were the same as my past be…
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