Living According to the Steps & Traditions
I want to share six affirmations I created on an app called “I AM,” that show on my phone screen throughout the day to a background of a setting sun at a beach. They help me to stay sober.
How His Meeting Became a Group
I entered SA in August 2017, having heard of it a year earlier. My first meeting was on a Saturday morning in the city of Ghent, Belgium, where I live. It was in a messy but cozy living room of a presbytery. SA had been very warmly welcomed there by the old local parish priest who gave us the room when approached by a fellow in 2014. This Saturday meeting has been my home meeting for the last 6 years.
Step One Is My Foundation
I am 71, married with two adult children, and currently living in a country at war. I am not on the battlefield; I don’t have children at home to care for, or children in the military.
Editor’s Corner
Hi readers, and happy reading for 2024! In this month’s issue we remember those members of early SA who have since passed away in sobriety; their example attests to the great strength of our program and to the Grace of a loving God in our lives. Their testimonies don’t speak of religion—we don’t pretend to be religious; rather, they illustrate how trust in a loving God, as understood by each one, can help a bunch of drunks like us to stay sober.
Coming Next
The April issue will be focusing on the theme “Courage to Change,” which will be the theme of the upcoming Los Angeles July International Convention. Picking a Convention Theme This Los Angeles fellow describes why the theme “Courage to Change” was chosen and how the convention team is proceeding towards the event.
Dear ESSAY
THANK YOU ESSAY, for your amazing magazine, every two months again. The themes, the depth of the articles, the colors, and the images have become so much more attractive these last years.
The Legend Passes
At some point in 2011 I remember hearing about this fellow named David who was sober 25 years and could quote the Big Book, chapter and verse, and worked with a bunch of people as a counselor and as a sponsor. I got online and found a website where I could purchase old recordings from past SA conventions.
The True Share Is What You Have to Give Away
There is a saying that goes something like this, “Not by argument will you change a person’s mind but by telling them a good story.” How true this is when speaking of Dave T. when he shared his experience, strength, and hope.
Discussion Topic
The author of this article knew Roy personally. He describes how he learned a lot from directly associating with him and helping him with service.
SA CFC
One of the early members of the Correctional Facilities Committee (CFC) was Ray S. from Tucson, Arizona, who is better known in our program as “Tucson Ray.” He started the Sponsors-by-Mail (SbM) program in Arizona by “offering it single-handedly for some seven years.” He developed a format for this outreach to people in prison that is still used today by those who write to men and women in prison.
