Keeping Hope Alive

I subscribed to the print Lifeline magazine almost continuously since I came to OA in 1976. In the 70s, meetings were scarce and there was very little OA literature. Because I couldn’t relate to alcoholics, I found it a challenge as a newcomer to read AA literature and make the mental translation from alcohol to food. But I found hope in Lifeline, reading individual shares from members just like me, and I kept coming back even though continuous abstinence eluded me for six and a half years.

The most dramatic way Lifeline helped my recovery was through an article published just before my husband and I were transferred to Europe for his military assignment. In 1981, there was no internet, and long-distance phone calls were prohibitively expensive. But in the article “Visit to a Small Meeting” (March 1979, p. 2; reprinted in Lifeline Sampler, p. 5) a traveling OA member talked about attending an isolated meeting kept open by one lone member. Months after that story appeared in Lifeline, I found myself as the lone member. I kept local OA meetings open during my first summer in Germany. Every week, I listened to tape recordings from OA Conventions until the meeting time was up. If not for that Lifeline article, I don’t know that I would have figured out what to do before relapse overwhelmed me.

Keeping those meetings alive allowed me to meet the sponsor who took me through all Twelve Steps, and my Step Nine amends marked the turning point in my recovery. A few weeks after completing the rest of the Steps, I realized the food obsession and compulsion were removed for the first time. I didn’t believe it was possible not to be hungry 24/7. I have been abstinent ever since August 4, 1983.

Thank you so much‚ OA members who have contributed, trustees who have reviewed stories, and staff who created the wonderful layouts and graphics for all these years.

— Barb