Dear Essay readers, I was asked to introduce this special edition, as I had the wonderful privilege to chair last May’s worldwide online event “Supporting Women in SA.” You may have wondered why it is necessary to support women in SA or thought it is an outside issue or a controversial topic. Well, then this issue of Essay is for you.
Dear New Brother, The first thing I want you to know is that I will honor your anonymity; I will not use your name nor give you mine. At a large Saturday morning meeting of our 12-Step program your sponsor read your First Step letter. It resonated with me, and I want to give back to the fellowship by writing my share to you.
The author of Tough Love Changing Lives describes what made the change for him back in 1993. Apart from the Gift of Desperation, he had friends who cared enough for him to take him to a strong meeting, which he describes for us in detail.
The Feb 2021 issue had a cartoon of a male in recovery witnessing those of various religions squabbling over ‘who is in the right,’ and engaging in fisticuffs. The ‘observer’ stands aside, witnessing the fray. The message of freedom from anger and resentment could have been conveyed much better. Anger, in particular, is a complex issue. Rendering it so simply does not do justice to finding recovery from anger and rage.
Dear Essay readers, We hope you find inspiration in this issue on how you can turn your local meetings into strong spiritual gatherings by reading contributions from fellows from all over the world. You can also find out which pieces of literature on meetings our fellowship has to your disposal.
Hamed describes how he wasn’t making enough use of the tools, hadn’t told everything, didn’t really work the Steps, had his own interpretation of the sobriety definition, etc.
I love how simple this program is. Being someone who overthinks, I start obsessing over what I need to do about this or that. If I make a mistake or don’t do something, I immediately think I’m going off the rails into a relapse. None of that is true. We are practicing 24 hour living. I can start my day over at any time. I can make adjustments to get back on course.
Dear Essay readers, Our Fellowship continues to attract more and more young people from all over the world—men and women who learn from the experience of those who have gone before them and do not have to descend so deep in the bottomless abyss of the addiction. You can devour their stories under the heading “Young & Sober in SA.”
Dear recovering friend, Eighteen years ago, I became sexually sober and started my SA journey. As a CFC member, then Vice Chair, then Chair, I’ve been engaged in 12-Step correctional work with those on five continents.
Dear sponsor, First of all, I hope and pray that you and your loved ones are in good health, and under God’s loving care. I want to thank you for the email. I appreciate your time and willingness to figure out a way to reach out to me.
