Over the holidays, I attended a French-speaking meeting in Canada. I enjoyed seeing their black-and-white copies of ESSAY. But I found that the language barrier has kept them from hearing of lot of experience, strength, and hope. They miss out on a lot of program information.

I had not intended to tell my story, but when they noticed that my 7th Tradition contribution was made with US dollars, they asked me where I was working my recovery, and they asked me to talk about my experience. I told them about the various places I attend meetings, including Chicago, Los Angeles, and Nashville, as well as AA in Hong Kong. I described the different types of meeting formats, the sponsors I’ve had, and what I’ve learned from them. I also told them of the importance of taking action. For many of them, the latter was almost a revelation.

It seems to me that these non-English speakers are cut off from the culture of recovery. They rely on Sexaholics Anonymous and the AA literature, but most other publications such as ESSAY and Step Into Action are unavailable to them. I left feeling grateful to have all these tools, and grateful for all the sober people around me. I have kept in contact with a few of the guys I met there. It is nice to be connected to them.

But I would love to see an ESSAY article translated into French (as well as other languages). I’m not great in grammar, but I could help with the French. I think it would mean a lot for these people to be spoken to in their own language.

I would also love to see a network of sober sponsors who speak French and who are available for sex addicts around the world. I would like to know of others in the fellowship who are interested in participating with me in this type of service. I would also be interested in feedback from others in the fellowship.

If interested, please contact me through essay@sa.org.