Powerful Daily Impact

Literature is one of the nine Tools in our program of recovery, and we are blessed to have print and e-book versions of many different types of literature in Overeaters Anonymous. There are countless ways to use this valuable Tool.

In my home meeting, we read from The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous, Second Edition to study and discuss the Steps and Traditions. This supports our recovery and keeps our group healthy. (I need to have a healthy home meeting to recover well.) Members share their experiences in applying the Principles of the Steps and Traditions in their daily lives.

When the Second Edition was released, I bought a copy and began writing the date at the top of the page each time I read a Step or Tradition. After a year and a half, I’d read some of them three or four times. It’s been encouraging to know that I’ve read the material before. Some sentences still stand out and other ones have become important to me now that I’m at a different place in my recovery.

I’ve used other OA-approved literature as book studies to read with my sponsor. We check in and then spend time reading stories aloud together. I am able to ask questions, and we can share our own experiences and how we relate to the story. This has helped me stay connected to my disease and my recovery during times when I’m not working through the Steps.

Our daily readers, For Today and Voices of Recovery, are powerful tools to start my mornings. I can simply read and reflect, or I can delve in a bit deeper and use the Tool of writing to express my thoughts and feelings. Writing about what I’ve read helps me focus on what my Higher Power is communicating with me for the day. I’ve also used the daily readers for topic studies by looking up a Principle or word in the index and reading each entry about that topic. I’ve done this for personal study when there has been a defect or attribute I’ve wanted to learn more about. I’ve also used this format for meetings to study and discuss a concept.

I am grateful for the ways literature impacts my recovery on a daily basis.

— Rachel