Divisions create discord. Rarely does one set out to deliberately sow discord. Instead it is a byproduct of self-interest or self-centered fear. Unity of purpose and spirit results from new attitudes. The reason OA can have unity as an undergirding Principle is because we have the Twelve Steps, which transform our hearts, helping us focus on service done with humility. …

A number of years ago, my area had two intergroups with quite a bit of dissension between them. Fortunately, some of the members saw that what they were doing wasn’t working. They had the idea to disband both intergroups and start a new, unified intergroup. Our local fellowship was on board with this idea, and Unity Intergroup was born. I was …

I am grateful to have been accepted in OA as a person who is not overweight and is a lesbian. My eating disorder began at age 14, when I became aware of my sexual orientation. The thought of being gay was so reprehensible to me that I began hiding myself from myself; I created a distraction by obsessing about food …

Overeaters Anonymous seemed like a long shot to me. How could it help me? I didn’t have serious weight issues—but my eating was out of control. I certainly was a compulsive eater. I spent most of my day obsessing about what to eat. Should I eat some protein or maybe more greens or perhaps just give up and eat potato …

I am a newcomer. I’ve been abstinent three weeks. For me, Step One has opened the path of “beginning to change.” Now that I have accepted something that I would never in a million years be willing to accept unless I absolutely had to—I feel that anything is possible. But if can’t do it on my own, then why not …

When I joined OA twenty years ago, I wasn’t interested in physical recovery. I needed help with my out-of-control emotions and relationships, but I was too scared to start from scratch in any Twelve Step fellowship for emotions and relationships. I was anorexic, so I could go every week to OA meetings (instead of once a month to “open” meetings of …

Look for the similarities, not the differences.” How grateful I am to have gotten that message straightaway when I walked in the doors of OA. It was out of desperation that I had to do this, because the only alternative was going to be death. I came to OA looking different than most, weighing in at 42–47 kilograms (93–99 lbs), …

I came to OA at age 25 with only 10 to 15 pounds (5 to 7 kg) to lose. That was twenty-six years ago. Before OA, there was darkness: guilt, remorse, shame, fear, paranoia. I built a wall to protect me. I even wore mostly black. I was bingeing, purging, and starving. I was smoking, drinking, and using drugs. There …

It was May of 2015, and I was up 30 pounds (14 kg) after a yearlong sugar binge. Although I’d been on a constant roller coaster of losing and gaining, this was the biggest weight gain I’d experienced in seven years. It was also the low point when I began to realize my powerlessness over food. I had not yet …

I arrived in OA a raging bulimic, underweight, and with a self-image that suggested my body was larger than my home state. I was suicidal because I did not believe I could escape this madness of food-obsession and self-obsession. At the first meeting I attended in October 2000, I met an OA member who had what I wanted. She agreed to be …