The contract starts by saying “God, I’m checking in.” Then I say the Serenity Prayer and the first three Steps. Next, comes the Third Step prayer. I repeat a line from that prayer until I really mean it — “Relieve me from the bondage of self” still loosens my chest every morning.

After I had about a year of sobriety, a friend of mine in the program asked me for a favor: Would I go with him to the local internet customer service center to be sure he would follow through with his decision to have his internet service disconnected?

My name is Brad and I am a sexaholic. When I say “I am a sexaholic,” I am admitting that I belong to a class of people for whom lust has become an addiction. I have finally accepted the truth that whenever my behavior is driven by an attitude of lust, there will almost certainly be consequences, pain, and humiliation. There is no exception to this reality.

A member Ian L. of SA in Galway, Ireland, went missing on the 9th of March 2016. He left a note. It was feared that he had drowned himself in the sea. After eleven days his body was recovered at Aughinish, on Galway Bay. The news shocked members in the Galway Group, in Europe, in the UK and the USA.

We mourn the passing of Mike P., who left a legacy of service on the SA Correctional Facilities Committee. Mike joined the SACFC in the early years, when it was a challenge to recruit workers. At that time, he was recently out of prison himself, and for the remainder of his life he corresponded with many prisoners.

One of the co-founders of SA in my city Melbourne, Australia, died in May, 2015. John, along with myself and another member started SA here in December 1992. Our first meeting was us three with a White Book in a public park.

The preliminary financial results of fiscal 2015 were all good news. The budget began with a possible shortfall of $26,000. With good year-end results, this became a $17,000 surplus instead, in spite of many computer repairs and necessary updates to SAICO office equipment. This surplus goes directly into the Prudent Reserve for future projects.

What solutions to despair have worked for you?

Your three new Editors are so pleased to follow the wonderful nine-year editorship of Barbara F. and her Essay team. We hope to continue the fine editorial and aesthetic standards she established for Essay.

When we heard that the January 2017 International SA/S-Anon Convention is to be held in Jerusalem, our first thought was, “Wow! That’s big news for both fellowships: the first ever SA/S-Anon International Convention outside of North America…”

The 5th convention of Sexaholics Anonymous was held in Moscow with the theme “The 4th Dimension of Existence.” Participants were from Ukraine, Belorussia, UK, Germany, USA, Iran and Russia. There were about 70 registered participants: 50 men and 20 women.

I’m Bill, a sexaholic from the USA. Last August I arrived in Warsaw for a weekend retreat. We had nearly 50 SA members from Poland, Slovakia, Finland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain for a discussion of several principles of recovery from sexaholism.

The recent 2016 SA International Convention in San Diego, California was my first experience of such a gathering. My first years of SA consisted mostly of phone meetings, working with a phone sponsor and attending lots of other recovery group meetings face to face.

Recently I had the great good fortune to speak at a joint women’s shelter / District Attorney’s program for men arrested in prostitution stings. They don’t want to be there.

It was July 31, 2015, and I was in the shower. Without warning, in the space of about a minute and a half, three different lust images came through my thoughts. Soon after I let the first one go—20 or 30 seconds later—here came another! Soon after I let that one go, there was a third!

My natural tendency is to vacillate between pride and shame. Maybe I hit moments of humility somewhere in between. It occurs to me that both pride and shame are dishonest states of being, while humility is completely honest.

Part of me knew from very early on that I was a sexaholic. Part of me didn’t want to admit that or accept it. Part of me wanted to be rid of “the addict.” Part of me wanted to give into that and just enjoy my acting out.

Does meditation impact my recovery? Absolutely! I meditate in order to formulate how to complete each Step. I find meditation to be helpful to new members to simplify the Step process.

“I want to quit” is in my mind nearly every time I go a pool to swim laps. I have learned that “I want to quit!” means that I’m doing something that matters and that finishing it will benefit me. Only when I’m doing something important does my “I want to quit!” thought come to my head.

These days seem so hard at times; I keep looking for a text that will never come, a phone call that will never be made. I miss the smile and laughter I once heard and the kindness I once felt.