Thanks so much for the article “One Small Part”. Staying in the moment and paying attention to what’s in front of me has been something I have always struggled with. Years ago, I discovered that when I did not want to do something at work, I got hungry. I’d want to stop working to eat a little snack. It amazed me …

After being a full-time mom to four children, I find myself at a new stage in life; I am now able to travel with my husband when he travels for work. It is wonderful, yet at every hotel or motel, every resort or lodge, big or small, fancy or casual, I consistently find myself confronted with one kind of furnishing: …

Overeating, you were in control of my life for a while. You ruined my life, took away my friends, isolated me, made me sick, knocked me down, destroyed me . . . and I let you. I didn’t fight back. I welcomed you every chance I got and let you hurt me, and I actually enjoyed it for years—until the day I …

I thought I had the OA program down. I knew what I needed to do. I had a plan of eating, and I worked my program. Everything was going great—or so I thought. After years of being abstinent and following my food plan, things began to change. Inexplicably, I started gaining weight. After going to a doctor with complaints of …

The biggest negative I have to overcome lives between my ears. It isn’t an outside circumstance or even an emotion. It is my own focus on the negative. I learned this type of negative thinking at a young age. Complaining was habitual and commonplace in my family of origin—so much so that I didn’t realize how much I did it …

Gaining recovery can be compared to making pickles. If I put a cucumber into a brine solution, soaking it consistently and continuously, then gradually and inevitably it becomes a pickle. So it is with recovery. Even if I’m afraid to get a sponsor and work the Twelve Steps, I can still accomplish quite a bit just by going to meetings. …

The hardest character defect for me to accept was anger. After years of depression and stuffing down my feelings, I actually believed that anger was an asset because it energized me. But when a valued friend told me my anger made me unbearable to be around, I cried (crying is the first step in surrender for me), and I realized …

“I’ve prayed healing prayers for people who are ill, and I’ve prayed for guidance in being able to grocery shop without buying the wrong items. My weight loss results from actions I am willing to take, not from asking God to remove my fat or help me lose weight” (Voices of Recovery, p. 318). I can’t pray for weight loss …

I went to my first meeting twelve days ago. I have loved the lifeline of daily conversation with my sponsor and the introspection from daily tasks that really help me stay mindful and clean. I have been asking for spiritual help for the last eight years. God has been guiding me, and today, I have a much more open, loving, …

I had been out of bed for exactly eight minutes, and the disease was right in my face, a force that almost knocked me over. I was totally into resentment. “Woe is me. It takes so long to prepare my abstinent breakfast. I could be doing other things.” Then, quickly, powerfully, and closer, the voice of Higher Power. Today, it …