When we become sexually sober, life doesn’t stop happening. The WB comments on this: “... it is because and within these very problems that the program works! The program doesn’t work in a vacuum; it only works in the day-to-day ebb and flow of our lives. Trial, tribulation, and pain are the soil in which the steps can germinate, take root, and find fruition in our lives.” (SA 74)
The road of our recovery started when a more experienced member accepted entry into a very special relationship with us: the relationship of one reco- vering sexaholic helping another recovering sexaholic. We can’t make it on our own.
I am happy to have Essay magazine feature the work of the SA Correctional Facilities Committee (CFC) in this February 2022 issue. It is by the hard work of many SA members that this program has been so successful over the past ten years.
Dear Essay readers, Could Roy K. have imagined how Essay would look like when he wrote a letter to the fellowship in 1981? Gradually his letters turned into a newsletter containing sobriety insights and comments, as well as sharing from other SAs, and information on new groups, conventions, etc. Our 1990 book Recovery Continues contains twenty-four of Roy’s reflections from the early Essays.
Dear Essay readers, As we considered our options for the “old-timers” theme of this edition, we looked firstly at limiting ourselves to articles from members with 30+ years’ sobriety—all but one of these would be from the US, but thought this too narrow. Therefore, we decided to broaden the review, taking articles from members who are not simply sober for years, but that each of them would have either the longest sobriety or be a pioneer in his/her country.
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 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.
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 Essay readers, The saying “Every dark cloud has a silver lining” conveys the notion that, no matter how bad a situation might seem, there is always some good aspect to it.
Dear Essay readers, The theme of this issue is about the prejudices and challenges we all encounter sooner or later on the path of recovery.
