Literature Momentous At my first OA meeting, a kind soul offered to buy me a book of my choosing from the OA library. I had no idea what I was even doing there, and every piece of reading material looked foreign and, quite frankly, just weird. I rifled through the stacks of books, and one caught my eye like a beacon in … Read More
Tools & Concepts Starting Days with For Today My favorite OA book is For Today: I love it because it helps me begin each day with recovery in mind. Reading it makes me part of a huge OA community; we’re all reading the same thing each morning. For Today demonstrates in a tangible way how many days have passed in the year and how many are left, which reminds … Read More
Relapse & Recovery Different Perspectives In 1994, I hit bottom. Food no longer filled the hole in my soul. A sense of hopelessness and futility was constantly with me. I had reached what was my heaviest weight of 335 pounds (152 kg) and doubled my size in just four years. I was a graduate assistant working as a tutor at my university’s writing lab. One … Read More
Literature Tools & Concepts Writing Voices of Recovery OA literature plays a large part in my recovery from compulsive eating. We’ve made many changes, and helping with the development of Voices of Recovery connected me with OA members around the world. It was my chance to express myself through writing and to read other members’ ideas. Creation of this publication started in 1998, when members were asked to … Read More
Newcomers An Act of Hope When I walked into the rooms of Overeaters Anonymous, hope felt like a possibility, a possibility of a better life. I’d been bottling up all my feelings again; my mom had recently passed away and my wife and I had just moved into the South Bay area. Fear, anger, and sadness were churning inside me, and I did what I … Read More
Tools & Concepts Sharing Stories Thank you for Lifeline magazine. My latest issue arrived two days ago, and, as always, it gave me insight, contact, Tools, and a feeling of connection. About fourteen years ago, I lived in Houston, Texas. I was sick of my obsessive eating behavior and sick of resorting to strict diets or fasts to make up for bingeing. I had heard … Read More
Relapse If Only Before OA, I thought I was so unique with my secret of using compulsive eating to cope with fears, regrets, selfishness, and inadequacy. I also suffered from “if onlys:” “if only I would be more outgoing,” “if only I had a faster metabolism,” “if only I enjoyed exercising.” I felt so incompetent as a wife, mother, and employee. A friend … Read More
Writing Dog Talk My dogs’ unconditional love is so helpful when I can’t love myself. Dogs don’t judge my weight, my income, or my status in life. To dogs, I am okay just the way I am. When I was new to OA and first got a sponsor, I refused to talk to her about anything but dogs for three months because I … Read More
Abstinence Need–to–Dos These are things I do to maintain abstinence: I have a sponsor. Although I often complain, procrastinate, and argue, I eventually become willing to do what my sponsor asks. I work the Steps with my sponsor. I call my sponsor almost daily to commit my food to him. I have a food plan. I know what abstinence means for me: … Read More
Recovery Love, Licks, and Fellowship Thank you for making “Pets and Recovery” a topic for Lifeline. My name is Chloe V., and I’ve served my local OA as a recovery mascot for many years. At first, I just attended one meeting occasionally, but everyone was so friendly I wanted to keep coming back. I became mascot to our intergroup when Mommy served on the board. … Read More
