lifeline Literature Farewell, Lifeline I have been actively recovering in OA since 1986. I am lucky to live in an area with many meetings, but I have always supplemented meetings with readings from my subscription to Lifeline. The wisdom found in this little magazine has connected me with recovering OA members whom I never would have met and has helped me grow in so … 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, Amended Life. Step Three. Amen. So be it. I’ve made a decision to surrender to this process. Steps Four to Nine. The process of housecleaning, ending with my amends. Steps … Read More
Abstinence Recovery Blessed with Willingness In 1993, I sneaked into my first OA meeting. My shame told me you were all just crazy fat people, even crazier and fatter than I was—what could you possibly do to help me? Twenty years later, my home group was reading “Rozanne’s Story” (Overeaters Anonymous, Third Edition, pp. 7–22), and it struck me that Rozanne was inspired to create our … Read More
lifeline Literature My Life Jacket I would like to explain how Lifeline has supported my recovery. For me, Lifeline has been an important part of the Tool of literature. Its small size has made it very convenient to carry in my purse or suitcase, and it has been very convenient to use. I almost always have one in the car to read while I am waiting. … Read More
Abstinence Recovery Regular Reminders of Recovery I am a very grateful compulsive overeater with thirty-six years of abstinence. That is amazing to me, but not to my Higher Power, who asks me only to be abstinent one day at a time. The adding up of days and weeks and years is in the hands of my Higher Power. My job is to be abstinent today, and … Read More
Spirituality Steps Meditation and Awakening Like many in OA, I found that my compulsion to overeat originated in childhood. I came from a broken home with absent parents, and my happiest memories were of family visits to buffets and gatherings with large meals. I was praised for my “healthy appetite,” which invoked feelings of love and acceptance around overeating. I had a fast metabolism, so … Read More
Recovery Good Questions Here is a simple question that has helped me numerous times: how important is it? Asking myself this helps me reframe how I think about problems and situations and spurs me to ask myself these follow-up questions: Is it worth my sanity and my abstinence to keep obsessing over a problem? The answer is always “No, it is not.” Without spiritual, emotional, and physical recovery, I cannot maintain contact with my HP, who helps me live a … Read More
Literature Sponsoring Working the Program Modified Study Guide I wanted to share with the Fellowship how much I appreciate the Twelve Step Workshop and Study Guide and how I have used it. I started by reading it cover to cover. I was excited to learn that such a variety of our OA literature is referenced as well as the good old AA literature. When I came into OA in 1978 (and hit … Read More
Fellowship Literature Literature Prices and Postage I’m a member of a virtual group, and neither my current hometown nor the place I’m planning to move to has an OA presence. My virtual meeting doesn’t have literature for sale. For every bit of literature I own, I have paid exorbitant prices and postage. I understand that service offices need to cover the cost of printing, but an OA pamphlet that has … Read More
Recovery Whittling Down to Normal “I ate when I was anxious, fearful, lonely, or tired” (Voices of Recovery, p. 254). I can add more to that list: I ate when I was excited, happy, with people, or wide awake. Food gave me confidence and allowed me to act happy in deplorable situations. I was in a job I didn’t like and a sick marriage, and my social circles were narrowing. Life was … Read More
