Applying the Traditions This year I will celebrate my twenty-first anniversary with my large corporate employer, a miracle I can only attribute to the OA program and my Higher Power. I am grateful for this continuing gainful employment that has enabled me to provide financially for myself and my now-grown children. I am exceedingly mindful that this anniversary might not have come to … Read More
Following Suggestions I’ve completed seven years of abstinence and recovery in OA, yet until recently had always been puzzled by this quotation from “How It Works”: “Here are the steps we took, which are suggested as a program of recovery” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., p. 59). Why simply “suggestions”? I had come to believe that my recovery depended on following these Twelve Steps … Read More
Three Words I am alive. When I reflect on the mistakes I’ve made, I realize how lucky I am to be alive: I seem to find balance when I least anticipate it, through luck and working the Twelve Steps. Perhaps that’s because coincidence is simply Higher Power being anonymous. One way to accept that I’m fully alive is by understanding that I … Read More
Life Transformed OA not only changed my life but this recovery program also gave me a life worth living. Before I became abstinent from sugar, compulsive overeating, and compulsive food behaviors, I lived a life in food, using it constantly to manage and escape feelings and stress. I’d never want to go back to the way it was before I found OA, and … Read More
Work-World Recovery Two years ago, I was hired to work as a workshop leader at a treatment and rehabilitation facility in California, so I travel there every other month. About a month ago, I was outside, walking along the coast, when it hit me hard: I have this opportunity only because OA changed my life and brought me into the world of recovery. … Read More
Peaceful and Active I am 91 years old and enjoying a fairly active, peaceful life because of OA. I joined OA at the age of 51, after struggling with my weight since childhood. I’d always dieted but immediately regained the weight. I was a degreed registered nurse who knew a lot about food and diets, but that didn’t help. Since childhood, I had … Read More
Insulin-Free It’s a red-letter day, a miracle. I’m fearful (in case this is only temporary) but elated. I’m finally off insulin. About sixteen months ago, I began taking insulin every day to control my diabetes, but now I’ve gotten to zero units per day. I cannot begin to explain how wonderful it feels. I’ve lost 82 pounds (37 kg) and have … Read More
Mouthpeace One day, I was trying out a new slow cooker recipe I had created, and I wanted to taste it before serving it to my family. The food was hot, and I wasn’t careful to blow on it. I burned my mouth. I burned it pretty bad. It dawned on me in that painful moment that I’ve spent most of my … Read More
Progressive Focus I was just prescribed progressive lenses for my glasses. If I keep my head straight and look forward, I can see. If I look up, down, or to the sides, everything is a blur. I am reminded that before my Higher Power blessed me with the gift of the Twelve Steps, I spent most of my life in a blur. … Read More
Morning Person Before OA, mornings were a chore. When my alarm went off, I wanted nothing more than to pull the covers over my head and yell “Not fair!” at a God I thought was cruel and punishing. My overeating, my bingeing the night before, had taken its toll. Once again, I was not ready to function. Finding OA and working the … Read More