From G.A. in Iceland: “Dear fellow members,

My name is G.A. and I would like to tell you how SA got started in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Last July I was vacationing in Paris. Since I am an AA member I went to meetings held by the American groups in Paris. One evening I shared at a meeting and told them about my past, broken marriages and so forth.

After the meeting a man came up to me and introduced himself as an Australian who had been living in New York for some time. He asked me point blank: ‘What’s your other problem?’

I stared at him and said, ‘Sex.’

Then he said, ‘Come with me, I have something to tell you.’ We went for coffee and he told me about SA and gave me the big book to read. I stayed up all night reading and felt as the sky had fallen on my head. I called my best friend in Iceland and told him about SA. We talked for almost an hour and then I called my wife whom I had left a year and a half ago and told her also. I was elated. I fell asleep about six in the morning and when I woke up I thought it had all been a dream. The next night the Australian and me had an SA meeting in my room. But I was really scared and confused the next few days when it dawned on me what I was facing. I wished I had never met the guy or seen the book.

As it turned out, I never did see him again and I still have his book, which I treasure.

I was scared to death that the custom people might discover the book and I would be the laughing stock in the airport when I went back home to Reykjavik. But I got through unharmed and locked up the book when I got home and didn’t mention the book to anyone for about a week. Then I showed it to my friend who I had called from Paris. We admitted to each other that we were sexaholics.

We decided to start an SA group in Iceland and held the first meeting on the 26th of August 1985. Now there are seven of us, five men and two women and I am writing this letter on behalf of the group because we want to get in touch with you.…

We are just a bunch of beginners but we love the program and are grateful for SA. Best regards from everybody in the group.”