Steps Two New This morning, as part of my daily spiritual practice, I read a page from For Today and felt excitement. It is February, the …
Meetings Tools & Concepts Showing Up Imperfect I remember when I first started coming to OA meetings. I felt like people were looking at me differently, like they knew I w…
Abstinence Connection Matters My first day of abstinence was December 28, 1979. I’d been in OA a year and a half. Even though my bingeing and purging had …
Tools & Concepts My Side I’m abstinent and quite fired up this morning! I’m fired up and a bit frustrated because, at the moment, I seem to be surrou…
Recovery Relationships Through and Through I do not know why I belong to OA. What I do know is that I do belong. I am a member through and through. All my life, I have…
Recovery Relationships A Service Act of Desperation “Any form of service—no matter how small— that helps reach a fellow sufferer adds to the quality of our own recovery.” — The…
Anorexia & Bulimia Diversity Different Bodies, Similar Reasoning Look for the similarities, not the differences.” How grateful I am to have gotten that message straightaway when I walked in…
Meetings Tools & Concepts OA Is For Me OA is for me—and it has been ever since a friend brought me to program in December 1981. People of all shapes and sizes told…
Abstinence Key Specifics In all my seventeen years in OA, I’ve regarded “abstinence” as an ambiguous term—and I’ve blamed that ambiguity for my relap…
Tools & Concepts The Myth of Moderation My problem with food is that once I develop cravings, it’s impossible for me to moderate my eating. When cravings set in, I …
How OA Changed My Life Recovery True Freedom When a fellow OA member suggested I reflect on what true freedom looks like for me, I discovered I could probably write a book. Before OA, I truly felt I already had it in the form of a solid career, … Read More
Higher Power Spirituality Stepping-Stones, Nuggets, and Gems Spirituality is the solution to our problem of powerlessness, and we find this solution in the Twelve Step program of recovery. I’ve experienced three stepping-stones in this process: Amen, Amends, Am… Read More
The Road Narrows My twenty-ninth birthday in OA is approaching, and it is cause for renewed reflection about my program. I spoke to my sponsor a week ago and mentioned to her that I was thinking of not taking a candle this year. Other OA members on their birthdays pitch about life changes: weddings, kids, jobs, financial gain, or acquisition of cars. I … Read More
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 … Read More
Recovery Beyond Measure In a few days, I will celebrate thirty-eight years of recovery in OA. Today my goal is health, sanity, and wellness, not a size 8. Physically, my body has been a normal size for many years. G-d has removed the compulsion for what I call “the hard stuff”—the stuff you see at the grocery checkout counter. I have reached a … Read More