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 Workshops” in the October 2019 issue. It prompted me to search for nearby conventions and retreats, and I found out that our national assembly was coming up in a few weeks’ time, only a few miles from me and on a weekend that I happened to be free. Thank you, Higher Power! That is the power of this little magazine that I will miss so much.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to Lifeline over the years writing, editing, submitting, publishing, creating artwork, and subscribing. I hope the future of OA will contain something just as valuable as Lifeline.

— Joanna, United Kingdom

Joyful Reading
I want to thank the Lifeline staff for your many years of outstanding service. I’m saddened by the upcoming discontinuance of our magazine’s publication, but I understand that all good things must come to an end.

I’ve subscribed to Lifeline for a long time. For many years, I didn’t read it; I’d just give it to newcomers. But in the last three or four years, I began reading one story every morning—what a joy and inspiration. I found myself studying the great graphics too. Then I’d give it to a newcomer! I’ve kept some special issues, like the one dedicated to Rozanne (March/April 2014).

I look forward to the new online iteration. I don’t know if you will continue to be involved or if you are going to take a much-deserved rest. Either way, I wish you well and thank you again for the hard and beautiful work you have done throughout the years.

— Denise B.

Pages and Prayers
I resonated with “Print Preference” (October 2019, pp. 26–27). It was the first I’d heard of Lifeline’s imminent demise.

In 1996, I started the only registered face-to-face Overeaters Anonymous meeting my city has ever had but then had to close it in 2016 due to my health issues. Since then, our magazine has truly been a lifeline for me. I’ve read each issue from cover to cover, then have given them away to friends around the world. As a loner, I’ve obviously been “A Step Behind” in not being aware of the discussion about discontinuing the magazine, let alone having a voice in the decision. However, using the Serenity Prayer, I went right to work on accepting the things I cannot change, including the past, current trends toward electronic communications, and financial realities facing our trusted servants.

Last month, when I handed a copy of Lifeline to a struggling friend, I added my impression that the program wisdom found in Lifeline just keeps getting better as we read, work the Steps, use the Tools, and write what we have learned. Last week, when I mailed all the back issues I had to a former member of my group who had moved to a city without a meeting, it was with a prayer that the love and understanding in those pages would reach out where a face-to-face meeting has not. Now, I add a prayer that this precious loner will remain connected to our Fellowship via the upcoming online platform.

Thank you to all who plan, edit, and distribute this wonderful literature Tool; to all of you who contribute by sharing your experience, strength and hope; and to our loving Higher Power!

— Anonymous