Every single time Denise B. from California USA tried to leave the OA program, her binge eating and excess weight returned. Read as she shares years’ worth of experience, strength, and hope on a journey that has ultimately has led her to absitinence and recovery.
The Covid pandemic has had a particular and lasting effect on OA: the rise of online and hybrid meetings. As we negotiates the merits of returning to face-to-face meetings, K.S. from California USA uses this moment to call attention to the subtle prejudices in our Fellowship that denigrate OA members with compromised bodily health.
What does it mean to live life in between mealtimes? Follow the story of this anonymous OA member who describes her day and how even small, mundane activities can reflect back to you your own state of recovery.
“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.
Michele from Texas USA shares her response to the question “How can I practice love and tolerance toward someone who disturbs me?” from the For Today Workbook, p. 83. “Today, I truly prefer to take the high road,” she says.
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.
Judy B. draws a parallel between restoring the family home she has inherited and her OA recovery. Like recovery, “Restoration is working with what is and trying to bring it back to a better reality,” she says.
Anothony V. from Pennsylvania USA finds a lesson in the pain that comes from emotional pain, whether a slip or relapse back into compulsive eating or childhood trauma. “Today I can thank God for that pain . . .” he says.
Amy from Kansas USA reflects on the difference between OA and “diet and calories clubs.” “OA doesn’t treat everyone the same,” she says. In OA, we share our stories and find strength and hope in each other.
All his life, Majid from Alborz, Iran, aspired to be like others, including other OA members. After trying all suggestions to find and keep abstinence, he finally came to understand that only by looking at his own experiences could he write a Plan of Eating that helped him find abstinence.