Thank You for Sharing Your Memories of Roy!

Although we knew he was sick—stricken with an aggressive cancer—the death of SA founder Roy K. in September 2009 was a shock to us all in SA. The Editors sent a message through the Delegates: Would a grieving Fellowship care to comment?

We were amazed at the response. As the word spread, ESSAY was flooded with articles, great and small, in reaction to his death. Some people who met Roy in person recalled a special moment; others talked about his effect on their lives through SA literature. For every one, there was a deep-down gratitude for this man who made his own flaws the channel of healing for so many in SA. His life proves the truth of that bold affirmation in our White Book: “Every liability will turn out to be an avenue of grace” (103).

Perhaps most moving of all was the testimony of several writers about Roy’s practice of making amends. In the last months of his life, we learned, Roy was actively telephoning members around the SA world, seeking to reconnect with those from whom he had been estranged. The stories you shared with us demonstrated that when one person reaches out to another, a channel opens that allows new life and new freedom to flow.

He was still teaching us, even as his life was ending, the truth of Step Ten: “I don’t want to be, but I’m the key. What I am is what I get, and the measure I give is the measure I get back” (134). The measure he gave was immeasurable, and we are inheritors of it all. As we follow his example, we see the miracle repeated at every SA meeting: “…We give of ourselves to others in the group. We get back recovery” (189).

To all of you who contributed, thanks for sharing.