Diane D. did all the right things to find recovery in OA, from surrendering in Step One to adopting a plan of eating and throwing herself into service. But then everything crashed because of illness and an outside addiction, and God seemed nowhere to be found. How did she make it back to recovery?
“I am not like normal eaters,” says Lori B. from Canada, who joined OA at age 62. Learning this in her first OA meeting “lifted a huge weight from my shoulders,” she says, “as I could hear the promise of a solution.” It has taken 6 years, including one bout of relapse, but today Lori has found her secret to recovery.
A.F.S. from Illinois USA was a “revolving door member, joining and dropping out, for decades, and during that time she continued cycles of binge eating and restricting. It was not until she was given the gift of desperation that she committed to truly working the program. “And I hated it,” she says, “but the freedom tastes much better than any food I could eat.”
Regarding the start of her relapse, Lee R. from Massachusetts USA reflects, “Looking back, I realize that what I was trying to do was “to be normal,” which could never happen. I am a compulsive overeater and nothing will ever change that.” But she never gave up hope and the miracle happened for her.
“Through service in OA, my issue of not trusting people has come up for healing,” says Barb K. of Indiana USA. Over the years, Barb has learned in OA how to negotiate speaking up when she needs to speak up and trusting in OA unity when other OA members see things differently, and this shows just how valuable service can be to our recovery.
Roberta L. from California USA joined OA in 1979. In spite of an early relapse, she kept coming back. She experienced her spiritual awakening in 2002, and since then she says, “My self-esteem has blossomed, and so has my life.” Enjoy her story of living in recovery.
I opened my heart to my Higher Power’s will and discovered I was a part of the worldwide Fellowship. I walked into my first OA meeting alone and afraid. I had been defeated by food, weight, and life. I was desperate. In the meeting, I found OA members who wanted to help me. They reached … Continued
Lisa A. from California USA saw that abstinent OA members not only committed to their plan of eating but also committed to working the OA program. Keeping her abstinence has required adjustments over the years, but nevertheless, “I am free from compulsive eating . . . and free to experience the promises . . . of the Big Book,” she says.
Arriving at an empty meeting gave one OA member the opportunity to shake the fear that her local OA meeting was going to shut down. Instead, she picked up her pen and wrote checks to her intergroup, the World Service Office and her region, and she reflected on the overwhelming sense of unity she felt at the last OA World Service Convention.
“What was so fun about World Service Convention?” OA member Beth recalls an epic road trip and the amazing recovery vibe she felt at the three past Conventions she attended.