My name is Catherine and my sobriety date is 31 March, 2021. Since I was a very young child, I have used my imagination to escape from reality. At a very early point that I can’t remember the impetus for, I began to be fascinated by and create narratives around corporal punishment.
This January, our fellows in SA Exeter in the UK organized a Winter Convention held in their beautiful ancient city in the Southwest of England; it was a 3-day weekend of fellowship with sexaholics who came from all over the UK and Europe.
Incarceration can easily trigger guilt, shame, remorse, fear, loneliness, and negative feelings like anger and resentment towards oneself and others. Knowing how to handle such feelings, whether inside prison gates or on the outside, can free a person.
Dear Essay, When I read the Oct issue about our old-timers, I thought of our founder Roy K.
I’m Barbara, a grateful sexaholic, sober since December 12, 2001 and Essay editor newsletter since March 2007. I’m grateful to the fellowship for allowing me to be of service all these years; this has been one of the biggest blessings of my recovery.
It was my privilege to serve as Essay editor during the years 1999-2000. My service term was short, but memorable. I could not always keep pace with the Essay production schedule. I will always admire those before and after me who have produced regular Essay issues full of inspiring material. We owe them a debt of gratitude. Theirs is not an easy task.
When considering what artwork to design for this article, my imagination began to view Essay through the digital world (yesterday, today and tomorrow). It seemed appropriate to honor Essay’s digital outreach by designing this article to be read in a way that digital articles are often read, on an Android or Apple device.
Dear Essay, I was so grateful when I saw the August magazine titled “Supporting Women in SA.” Topics such as getting a sponsor, working the steps, mixed meetings, boundaries, service, and participating in the fellowship reminded me of my journey to recovery.
The last weekend of August was one of the most unforgettable events in my life, when 48 SA and 9 S-Anon members gathered in Stirling for the Scottish SA Convention. Fellows from the UK, Italy, Spain, Germany, Ireland and Netherlands joined us in doing together what we cannot do alone.
Grief was foreign to me. I had not experienced it as close as I did until my Dad passed away in June 2021. We were planning for a Father’s Day lunch just two days before he had an accident that caused some head injuries. Three days later, we were planning for his funeral.
