Dear ESSAY
I would be disappointed to stop using the original SA logo [Essay, February 2018] with its rich history and symbolism.
Editors’ Corner
Dear Essay readers: This issue of Essay includes many stories on Anonymity. The next issue in August will focus on the Twelve Traditions using the theme Relating with Others. Send in any stories or short articles on a Tradition that affects you. Let us hear from you at essay@sa.org!
Humor For SA
Some SA Acronyms: ODAAT - One Day At A Time
Madrid Convention
We know you know these Slogans: “One Day At a Time” “First Things First” “Easy Does It” “Keep It Simple”
Family Reunion
I’m River W., a sober SA woman from Kansas City, Missouri. My sobriety date is August 26, 2015.
The Gift of Healing
In the early recovery stages, the pain of my addiction was excruciating. Today I want to pay it forward, as others did for me. I discovered 12 essential keys that have contributed to my personal recovery.
Working the Steps: A New Pair of Shoes
At a convention recently, the speaker had a powerful message about comfort and change. Change often feels unnatural. We always revert to what feels comfortable.
The Fourth Step
Thirty years ago in SA I had an awful experience working on my Fourth Step. I focused solely on my defects of character and acting out behaviors. As I wrote I reacted in shame and acted out sexually. I couldn’t connect with any hope that I could get well or notice the hand of God working in my life. I was worse off after completing my Fourth Step than I was before I started it!
Free As a Bird
As a young man, he experienced the bondage of lust. Even becoming a priest didn’t solve the problem. But he came to SA, and found a new freedom when he got sober at the age of seventy.
True Surrender
I just finished a two-hour working session with a sponsee at a coffee shop. We were upstairs, mainly deserted, only one couple at the far end, who looked like they were down on their luck. I used the restroom and headed out when I noticed the gentleman that was upstairs coming down the stairs. I realized I had left my brand new cell phone on the sofa that he had just passed. I went and checked and it was gone.
