Dear Essay,

If there is nothing on our homepage (or easily accessible with one click) that displays the fruit of recovery that an inquirer is looking for, we are doing them a disservice. Now that a sample article from Essay is a clickable link on www.SA.org, we are well on the way to providing that “instant info” an inquirer might be looking for.

Along those lines, I think Cathal’s suggestion of putting up some thoughts about what newcomers should expect in their first meeting is an excellent one. But I don’t think the IT Committee is the right group to collect those stories. I would suggest that Essay make “I remember my first SA meeting” (or equivalent) a regular feature, and that the resulting stream of articles be (among) the samples that are placed on the Essay Newsletter link. To provide a suggestive sell to inquirers, an extra link, “Information about what to expect in your first meeting may be found here.” Here is a start: “My Recollection of My First Meeting.”

 

Dear Essay,

Hi! I’m Suzanne S., a Delegate from the Northeast Region. I’m also in the WhatsApp group, SA Women Through the World. An eager member of the group recently posted the lovely issue of Essay focusing on women members. Great issue! I would imagine that she was unaware of the limit to share with 10 people or make 10 copies, as the permission to copy doesn’t mention digital sharing. I hope that will be clarified in future issues so we can all be on the same page in supporting Essay.

Here’s my post:

This is lovely. An issue of Essay focused on women in SA! Esty, who is in the article, was the SA speaker on Sunday at the Newark Int’l Convention!

The only problem with sharing this with all of us is that permission is only given to share it with 10 people, or to make 10 printed copies. To all of us, please consider subscribing to this and sharing 10 copies in your home group or by private messaging to some WhatsApp sisters!

There is the statement from the inside front cover of Essay. It’s not very clear about sharing digital copies, but I heard a thorough explanation in a Delegate meeting. Essay needs our support by our subscriptions and sharing them with just 10 other members.

[Ed.: Note: the statement is updated in this issue of Essay.]

 

Dear Essay,

This is the first pretty day in months, sitting on a Friday after lunch looking at a woman. There’s another one, but my brain said “Keep your eyes on your toes.” Experience leads me. Not my own experience but experience that God, as I understand Him, gives through what I imagine can be one of His most favorite ways: through my sponsor. His suggestion is something sane, tested and safe, and the tic in my mind is that His words come from outside of me!

I always wanted something from outside myself! I’ve thrived on what’s outside to take me away, no matter the pain, from my conscience and awareness, from my small inner voice that I pushed way down at times, jumping on it to kill it. I never succeeded. Never could kill myself or, I pray to God, someone else. This last time I felt like I was inside a cylinder and I could not escape. I saw my wife, our daughter, and our pets, but I wasn’t able to speak. With my laptop on (you-know-where) and my soul engaged, I did not stand a chance. Nothing could stop me.

I contacted SA. I got a White Book, a pamphlet, and I found a meeting and I asked for help. Like the literature says, “[I] really wanted to stop but could not.” SA offered me sobriety. I am okay, materially. As I trudge toward 90 days, my spirit, my psyche, my emotions and my conscience are trying to disengage from the sticky substance of lust.

The men at my home group say they are free. At thirty days I arrived, i.e. “showed up.” At sixty days, I hoped I could be free. At ninety days, God is keeping my focus on my toes, still stuck on myself. The place where I touch the earth is now my protection.