The June 1 readings in For Today and Voices of Recovery are both about Step Six. The way I practice and understand this Step today involves my perspective. As I grow in relationship with my loving Higher Power through the process of surrender and trust, I see myself differently. Instead of seeing myself as flawed or defective, I see myself …

If this were a highly complicated program requiring complex levels of thought and planning, I would have nailed it long ago. But a simple program of recovery? Nope, that’s baffling! As wise fellows have said, “You can’t be too dumb for this program, but you can be too smart!” I have this vision of me versus God. I’m on my …

I first came to OA in August 2015; I was bingeing most days and abusing laxatives. I weighed a hefty 246 pounds (112 kg), about 100 pounds (45 kg) heavier than my healthy weight. I had already attempted suicide once and was well on my way to a second attempt. I was willing to try anything. I remember two things …

I am a newcomer to OA. I’d reached my bottom weighing approximately 350 pounds (159 kg), and I started coming to meetings the following month. I have been abstinent for several months with a weight loss of about 85 pounds (39 kg). Things clicked for me right away. I knew I was in the right place with the right people. Within …

There I was, alone, scared, and miserable on a Wednesday morning, approaching the church where the OA meeting was held. I wandered forlorn into the main entrance. Church services were being celebrated, and I had no idea where to go or even who to ask. No one seemed to know where I should go. I wandered around this mammoth church …

I must confess: After nearly three years in this program, Step Three is the one I’ve struggled with most. Naturally, that’s the Step I’ve been asked to write about. I wonder if my Higher Power has anything to do with that! Like a lot of people, I experienced a childhood of abuse. I guess you could say I had a bone …

“Well?! Are you?” asked a raspy, aggressive voice. Even though the woman stood about two feet shorter than me, I took a step back. I’d been walking the aisles of the grocery store and it took a few seconds to register what she wanted to know. My shirt had the word “fearless” in block letters across the chest. I hadn’t …

The recovery Tools I have learned in OA have recently enabled me to overcome one of my greatest fears. I had always been terrified of heights, so when I heard that my coworkers and I would participate in a ropes course as part of our staff training—climbing sixty feet up in the air and balancing on ropes and small pieces …

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 …

Everything in my life was happy and lucky, except my weight. My disease manifested after I got married, when I was an RN working full-time. My husband would be asleep when I came home from work, and in the late, quiet hours, I could eat as many snacks as I wanted. Then I discovered I could put snacks in containers …