One of my favorite Essay articles appeared in Issue Four, 2003. It’s called “Rent-A-Sponsor” and is a very funny (in my opinion) “advertisement” to imaginary SA members who are tired of the old, time-honored methods of working the Program. It offers a new (much) “easier, softer way!”

I have been involved in SA since June 2007. Over the years I have tremendously enjoyed our worldwide magazine Essay, the “meeting in print.”

On my way home to join a Zoom meeting I stopped by my mailbox. I have a subscription to a golf magazine, and this particular issue had two beautiful professional women golfers on the cover, which meant it would be full of photos of them.

Why is sobriety not something easy to grasp? Because it is very simple! Much has been said and tried to improve the sobriety of sexaholics; however, I cannot find a more efficient way than doing the following:

A thought struck me today. Each time I lust or form a resentment, I am trying to hold onto something that is not mine to hold. With lust I am taking the image of the person which prevents me from actually seeing them as a person. With resentments, I am holding onto their defects, which are normally my defects, again preventing me from seeing the person in front of me.

Earlier today, my family and I had to put our 11-year-old dog Cody down due to complications following cancer and other assorted and cumulative ailments. He was blind and had recently lost his hearing and his teeth. He had become increasingly lame, irritable, discontent and restless—boy, do I relate to those character defects.

I am retired and in my personal travels I made an effort to visit local groups when I could. On some occasions the groups I visited were small and had limited sobriety. In those cases I was often asked to give my story. I am always grateful for a chance to be of service by sharing my personal experience, strength, and hope and making new friends.

New Zealand has a relatively young fellowship with much to learn from the experience of other international groups. With five main centers and an intergroup that has been in existence for approximately three years, we have the structure in place to allow proliferation of the fellowship Down Under.

The current membership of the Russian-speaking Intergroup comprises groups from Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. Until recently, SA members from Ukraine have been an active part of the RIG, but now they decided to become an independent Intergroup.

The main purpose of the SA fellowship is to carry the message to the sexaholic who still suffers, but to do that when the fellowship today ranges to the ends of the earth? Translations is one of the crucial channels to get in touch with SA worldwide.

I’m Bruno J. and I’ve been serving on the SA IT Committee for the past 4 years. Communication technology is playing an increasing role in the basic function of our fellowship.

Dear Essay,
I was so grateful when I saw the August magazine titled “Supporting Women in SA.” Topics such as getting a sponsor, working the steps, mixed meetings, boundaries, service, and participating in the fellowship reminded me of my journey to recovery.

My sponsor defined “insight” as having an understanding of my behaviors. So, to me, having an understanding of why I am addicted to lust and sex has been a huge eye-opener.

Dear Essay readers,
As we considered our options for the “old-timers” theme of this edition, we looked firstly at limiting ourselves to articles from members with 30+ years’ sobriety—all but one of these would be from the US, but thought this too narrow. Therefore, we decided to broaden the review, taking articles from members who are not simply sober for years, but that each of them would have either the longest sobriety or be a pioneer in his/her country.

Iranian old-timer Masoud describes in great detail how he has been working his program since the beginning of his recovery to improve his conscious contact with the God of his understanding.

The last weekend of August was one of the most unforgettable events in my life, when 48 SA and 9 S-Anon members gathered in Stirling for the Scottish SA Convention. Fellows from the UK, Italy, Spain, Germany, Ireland and Netherlands joined us in doing together what we cannot do alone.

Grief was foreign to me. I had not experienced it as close as I did until my Dad passed away in June 2021. We were planning for a Father’s Day lunch just two days before he had an accident that caused some head injuries. Three days later, we were planning for his funeral.

I am Harvey A. My sobriety date is March 8, 1984. I can hardly believe that I am now 81 years old and have been sexually sober for more than 37 years.

I came into SA on February 26, 1999 and by the grace of God and numerous miracles have stayed physically sexually sober since that day. SA did not emerge in Australia until about 1988 in Wentworthville, Sydney and a group in Melbourne that initially met on a park bench. All of the original founding members had ties to AA but have now passed away or left the program.

I came to my first SA meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany, on Sunday, May 26, 1985. I was one of three newcomers at a meeting of 20 men and women. As newcomers we were required to give a brief First Step in the form of answering set questions. Before I came to the meeting, I threw out my pornography. I also threw out phone numbers and addresses of women I knew from other 12-Step fellowships. I stopped acting out sexually.