I first went to an OA meeting in February 1990, when a student of mine took me with her. It wasn’t an easy thing for her, admitting to her teacher that she had an addiction. Her courage taught me a lot. I couldn’t believe the First Step before I first took it—that I was powerless over food and my life …

The strength and hope that my Higher Power and Overeaters Anonymous give me are gifts greater than the physical changes I longed to see when I first came into the program. But I haven’t always known these tremendous gifts. Like a hamster running on a wheel, my compulsive overeating, food and dieting obsessions, and bulimia kept me running from the …

Most folks who know me only see my weight loss over the last few years, but the most significant changes in my life happened on the inside. It’s what cannot be seen, but seems to be sensed. It’s all due to OA. I came to OA in 1994 looking for a solution to my recent weight gain. I had kept …

Editors note: Below are two world service contributions from OA members in support of our Strategic Plan. In August 1999, I was desperate and obese. I was still pleasant at work but not at home. I had reached the point where I couldn’t stop eating but the food was no longer satisfying, so I had nothing to live for. A …

On February 6, 2018, I will celebrate fifteen years without a binge. My biological birth date is December 16, 1955, but in truth my life began some forty-eight years later. I don’t know what happened on that day, February 6, 2003, but I became empowered not to binge, and I’ve continued to be binge-free to this day. It is simply the …

I joined OA about five years ago, when I’d lost all hope of knowing happiness or having a purpose. I had been in program twenty-five years earlier, but the lessons learned had all but faded away. I did remember, however, that I had lost weight and felt a sense of happiness, and I wanted that feeling to return. My second …

I’m not happy to say I’m working on surrender. The way I grew up, it was about doing better every time. Quitting was never an option. Then I came to OA and heard about this surrender thing. But I’m hardwired to do my best, so I followed program suggestions like a to-do list. I went to meetings, made a few …

It is easy to be misled to think That freedom is entitlement to obtain Whatever we want, when we want it, Be it pleasing or wasteful or vain. Yes, we’ve been given free will, But that doesn’t mean absence of price For choosing that which is not for our good, For rejecting virtue for vice. For what is the opposite …

I knew early on that Opie and I had a lot in common. They say, “If you spot it, you got it,” and when HP brought this rescue dog into my life, his behavior was only too familiar. Selfish and self-seeking, Opie struggled with impulse control and trust—he seemed to lack faith that the world would provide him with kibble, toys, …