Service is a big part of my recovery. My disease is one of isolation, and selfishness is a character defect of mine. By giving service, I am forced to interact with others and become selfless. I do things for others without expecting anything in return. It’s a whole new concept for me, doing favors with no strings attached! I started …

Before I got involved in service at the intergroup level, I hadn’t given a lot of thought to intergroups and what they do. Now, I see all the services they provide and what we would miss if we lost our intergroup. Our web page, telephone answering service, meeting lists, equipment, speakers list, Fellowship-wide celebrations like IDEA Day, communications with region and …

I write this as the food is calling to me.” This quote from page 13 of A New Beginning: Stories of Recovery from Relapse strikes me as very intentional. The author has made a choice to pick up the pen instead of the fork. The story, “Caring for Myself,” first shares gratitude, then acknowledges the author’s need to do their …

One Friday in September, from noon to 6:00 p.m., our DC Metro Intergroup sponsored a table at a wellness fair in Silver Spring, Maryland USA. I had my doubts about coordinating for the fair and wanted to back out numerous times. But then I was reminded—I did not have to do anything alone, and HP was in charge. I contacted …

It was 10:30 in the morning, and I was in a dangerous state of mind. I had just broken a promise to myself and gotten on my scale, only to find that its number had not budged a bit. I stared out the kitchen window, my mind racing. “What good is this? I have been abstinent, writing all my food …

Last year I was 14 and a half stone (92 kg; 203 lbs) and ate incessantly when I wasn’t at work. I ate anything in sight. My knees complained as I struggled up the stairs at the end of my shifts. My heart was unhappy about coping with my extra weight. Despite knowing what I should do and promising every …

I have had two knee replacements in two years. The first time I wasn’t abstinent, but this most recent time I was. I want to share the difference. The first time I was in rehab, I was physically, spiritually, and mentally bankrupt. I paid an acquaintance, my eating buddy, to bring me non abstinent food. I ate sugar and white flour …

“Any form of service—no matter how small— that helps reach a fellow sufferer adds to the quality of our own recovery.” — The Tools of Recovery I was at home on February 27 when I fell and broke my right ankle. At the emergency room, they found it was broken in two places and needed surgery. I was in the …

At first, the Traditions had little meaning to me. At the place and time I attended meetings, the Traditions were not emphasized, so I pretty much ignored them. Oh, sure, I finally saw that the Traditions kept groups functioning, but they still didn’t mean much to me personally. My responsibility seemed to be the Steps. When I started to wake up …

I am a grateful, abstinent, Lifeline-subscribing member of OA. I love and appreciate our magazine. I have a stack of old Lifelines, and recently my HP inspired me to suggest a good way to use them. When making a Twelfth Step Within call, why not give the prospect a copy of an old Lifeline? I like this idea and recently …