We are once again asking that checks sent to the Central Office be accompanied by a brief note or explanation on the check telling us the purpose of the check, money order, or cash. For example, group donation, personal donation, or literature order.

It was a very good convention. I thought the highlight of the convention was the two meetings on the Traditions where people wrote about the Unity Tradition and what worked against it and what worked for unity.…

On May 30, 1989, “Dear Abby” readers were advised: “…Sexaholics Anonymous is based on the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous, and all one needs is sincerity to make it work. There are no dues or fees. Interested parties should write to: Sexaholics Anonymous, Simi Valley, Calif.”

I didn’t want any more time to pass before sharing a little about the wonderful experience I had at the Milwaukee Conference. It was an event of peace and serenity for me and I really felt the presence of my Higher Power there. I was reminded once again about my first SA meeting and how it was at the time.

A special thank you to this group for calling the Central Office the day after “Dear Abby” to give us the number of their answering service for use in the anticipated flood of letters. We appreciate this responsible act.

After reading a recent “Dear Abby” column, I was stunned to realize that the “sex addict” portrayed almost chronicled my own troubled existence. Although married and a father, I find myself constantly struggling to come to grips with my almost insatiable desire—achieving masturbatorial release with all forms of pornography—video, pictorial and the written word.… Please consider this perverse preamble as my cry for help to forever wipe myself clean of these unnatural yearnings.

We are asking that all groups and individuals note that the SA logo is now trademarked and is being registered with the U.S. Trademark Office in Washington, D.C. This move was necessitated by the fact that the SA logo was being picked up and misused (it actually appeared in a newspaper cartoon!).

Now I’m dealing with another problem…a spouse who is antagonistic to SA, SLAA, AA, or any other Twelve-Step program because of the references to “higher power,” a feeling that the program doesn’t reflect Christian values, and (probably most important of all) her own fears of having to face that fact that I am, indeed, just like the people she read about in the material from the various groups, addicted to sex and lust.

The conference was wonderful. Approximately 178 attended. The first business meeting that I attended December 1983, there were 15 of us there. Five of us were in attendance in SLC. I truly recommend these conferences for loners as a way of connecting to others in the program and to the program as a whole.

Our continued thanks to Ruth P., who sends us the following news from West Germany and translates the German newsletter for us.

…We are still having some difficulty, however, with members who accepted the bottom line sobriety definition but continue acting out in other ways. This is particularly so with voyeuristic aspects of their disease as well as concerning relationship preoccupations.

I’ve only been in the program about 15 months and continue to be amazed at the difference it makes in my life. I think the greatest thing is the friends in the group, and the continued support. Ours is a good group, some growing going on here. The toughest part of this work remains turning my life and will over to God as I understand God. A day at a time.

Enclosed is a check for the support of SA and in appreciation for being left on your mailing list. I have been sober for 18 months. My marriage of 28 years is slowly getting better. I like myself more and I am beginning to experience some peace within myself. I believe that God is working His purposes for His creatures through SA in a marvelous way.

Some notices found on the bulletin board of the Klinik at Bad Herrenalb, West Germany, where Roy held the workshops last November:

We are struggling to get our participation at this meeting (5-8 average). This is a great lunch break meeting. The level of sobriety continues to flourish and grow. New members are finding that noon meetings are a big plus for them in their recovery. We appreciate the opportunity to meet and share with each other in the middle of our work days. It works, try it, you may like it.

Things are going well for us here in the Eleventh Hour SA Group. Many are growing in their recovery as we meet each week. We average in attendance about seven members. Again, we would like to thank you for all the help you have been to us in the past. Many times we have asked for information, books, and other material, and have been sent everything we asked for and often more. These things have always proved invaluable to us.

Please call the Central Office for meeting information when on travel. (Roy does not have meeting schedules or contacts at his home telephone number.) If you call our standard number, the call still comes through, but it costs the Central Office a little more. Thank you.

In the last issue of Essay, we published requests for feedback from groups that are experiencing problems or have questions about the way in which meetings should be run. R.B. in Wichita Falls wrote asking how other groups address the problem of a high rate of dropouts, and J.B. in Chicago wrote asking how other groups manage to give everyone enough time to speak.

Roy attended the biannual German SA Convention in Schneverdingen on November 4th, 5th, and 6th and other German SA meetings during his three-week trip in Europe. He had not been to Germany for three years and reports being joyously grateful for the quality of meetings and sobriety there. He reports that the sobriety imperative is “alive and well in Germany.”

I came to SA to save my marriage. I was addicted to sex with my wife and she could not tolerate it anymore. The emptiness left inside from the divorce was so great that no amount of sexual acting out could fill it. It was at this bottom that I got my current sexual sobriety. I accepted the fact of my addiction and knew deep in my heart that sexual sobriety was the only solution.