Although I’ve been a member of SA since January 2000, my sobriety date is January 1, 2007. At times, I’ve felt extremely frustrated with my lack of continuous SA sobriety—especially when compared with my 23 years of sobriety in AA.
What it was like. I enjoyed my first convention in the place where it all started. My cell phone’s background screen now has a picture of the gatehouse where Dr. Bob and Bill W. first met. When I open my phone, I say a prayer of thanks to God for the Twelve Steps.
In late December 2007, I received a flyer along with my copy of ESSAY, announcing the July 2008 International Convention to be held in Akron, Ohio. The flyer identified the Convention theme as “Welcome Home.”
Akron, Ohio—the birthplace of Twelve Step recovery—will host the July 2008 SA/S-Anon International Convention, entitled “Welcome Home.” We who live in Akron are reminded of our rich recovery history simply by driving down a neighborhood street and seeing one of many Twelve Step landmarks.
My initials are L. A. I’m powerless over lust without God’s help.
I experienced something new at the International SA/S-Anon Convention in Newark, NJ, this past January. One of the morning sessions had to do with fetishes and obsessions. There had been some contention as to whether to include such a topic at an SA convention but the room was packed.
As I anticipated attending the 2007 Convention, I felt both excitement and fear. Excitement because the idea of meeting lots of new friends in recovery (including people I do service work with) sounded like great fun! But fear at the prospect of traveling to Maryland to meet these people, especially the men.
The 2007 International Convention in Maryland was the first large SA gathering I had attended. I didn’t know what to expect or whether I would feel comfortable being around more than 500 people who are as sick as I am. But I was greatly encouraged by the honesty and sincerity of the people I heard sharing their stories in the breakout sessions.
I just got back from the SA International Convention in Maryland and it was wonderful! But it didn’t start out that way.
An open letter to my Oklahoma City SA and S-Anon friends! You provided a first class convention, hotel, meeting location, and down-home hospitality for the July 2004 convention.
