When I arrived at Sexaholics Anonymous in August, 1988, the periodic mailings from the Simi Valley Central Office in California were carefully read. While I have a fairly complete set of Essays from 1991 on, I only have a few samples of the earlier issues.
An SA friend had what seemed like an old copy of a book in his pocket. It was all rolled up. It turned out to be the Essay magazine. He asked if I wanted to read it and I said yes. There is a certain nostalgia to getting that paper all rolled up having been used by many people in recovery before me. Me being just the next lucky drunk to get to hold it for a bit.
My first encounter with Essay was in 2016, when I was a couple of months sober from lust. My first sponsor sent me the magazine, along with a step-by-step assignment and other SA literature. Admittedly, the magazine looked unusual—it was a Word file with several translated articles.
How do I encapsulate what the Essay magazine means to me and my recovery? I look forward to each issue like a kid heading to a candy store. I can’t wait to read each and every article, and typically enjoy a good laugh at the cartoons which invariably include nuggets of wisdom that broaden my recovery toolbox.
I am a very grateful sexaholic and member of SA. My first experience of SA came in 2006, but unable to see the problem clearly, I left and did not return until 2012. I attended another S-fellowship for a time and saw a friend walking with someone I knew was an SA member. This prompted me to return to SA.
Ghana, Kenya, Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Ivory Coast are the countries whose members have been participating in the Africa Sunday SA Zoom meeting every Sunday at 17:30 GMT. This is only one Zoom meeting out of many in the continent, and there are more countries with SA members in addition to those mentioned above.
I came to SA in 2016 via online meetings in Egypt and soon after, attended my third SA meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which is my home meeting. I have remained here since.
When considering what artwork to design for this article, my imagination began to view Essay through the digital world (yesterday, today and tomorrow). It seemed appropriate to honor Essay’s digital outreach by designing this article to be read in a way that digital articles are often read, on an Android or Apple device.
One of my favorite Essay articles appeared in Issue Four, 2003. It’s called “Rent-A-Sponsor” and is a very funny (in my opinion) “advertisement” to imaginary SA members who are tired of the old, time-honored methods of working the Program. It offers a new (much) “easier, softer way!”
I have been involved in SA since June 2007. Over the years I have tremendously enjoyed our worldwide magazine Essay, the “meeting in print.”
