Saturday Dec 13, 2025
ESSAY December 2025 - Improvising - Winfried, Germany
ESSAY Magazine (An International Journal of Sexaholics Anonymous)
The mission of ESSAY is to serve as a source of information, experience, strength and hope to sexaholics, both inside and outside the rooms of Sexaholics Anonymous. Our vision is to provide a high-quality “meeting in print” that gathers together members from around the world. It can serve as a portable “extra meeting” especially for loners and for members who don’t have access to many meetings. In addition, Essay serves as an outreach tool to carry the message to those who have not yet found SA. We strive to include a mix of stories and shares from a wide variety of members, including men and women, prisoners, and international members. In addition, ESSAY provides Fellowship announcements and information on subjects such as new meetings, Fellowship events, and our service structure. We hope that all of the articles we publish will offer useful information and provide experience, strength, and hope to all who suffer from the disease of sexaholism. Fellowship actvities such as international conventions, regional events and local events appear in the Calendar section. Each issue has a theme and various sections to share sexaholic stories and practical tools. In addition to letters and group news, ESSAY offers short, edited articles written by members about recovery and our solution. The Practical Recovery Tools section features members sharing on the topic, “Exactly how I did it.” Submissions may also include meditations, poetry, and humor. ESSAY is guided by the principles of the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions and Twelve Concepts. Each issue contains the following statement:
Listen on:
Episodes
Episodes
Saturday Dec 13, 2025
Saturday Dec 13, 2025
By presenting himself as he truly is, God meets him there with His love that transforms.
It wasn’t on the mountaintop where God found me, but in the dust. Not in the polished image I tried to uphold, but in the disorder of my soul. Over these past three months of sobriety, I’ve come to understand something I once feared: that my weakness is not an obstacle to the sacred—it is the doorway to it.
Saturday Dec 13, 2025
Saturday Dec 13, 2025
He learned the difference between white-knuckling (reliance on self) and true surrender (reliance on God).
When I was still deep in my addiction, I thought I knew how to interact with women: I performed, I craved, I hunted for the thrill of being wanted. I called it “romance” and “connection,” but really, I just wanted to be needed and admired. Lust, in every form, ran the show.
Saturday Dec 13, 2025
Saturday Dec 13, 2025
Daily Surrender, Steps 10-12
He learned the difference between white-knuckling (reliance on self) and true surrender (reliance on God).
When I was still deep in my addiction, I thought I knew how to interact with women: I performed, I craved, I hunted for the thrill of being wanted. I called it “romance” and “connection,” but really, I just wanted to be needed and admired. Lust, in every form, ran the show.
Saturday Dec 13, 2025
Saturday Dec 13, 2025
2025 SA/S-Anon NW Regional Retreat
I attended the SA/S-Anon NW Regional Retreat in Post Falls, Idaho. Gratefully, this was my fourth NW regional retreat, and as someone who lives on the opposite side of the country, each one has been a blessing. It was five years ago, at the suggestion of my then sponsor, that I got involved with SA meetings in Portland, OR, and I will be forever grateful for all the recovering sexaholics I have met there.
Saturday Dec 13, 2025
Saturday Dec 13, 2025
Last Saturday, September 20, the Group LA LIBERACIÓN from Bogotá, Colombia, held a nine-hour marathon meeting—a space to share, laugh, and enjoy time together as a group.
Saturday Dec 13, 2025
Saturday Dec 13, 2025
A retreat full of fellowship, fun, and growth while discussing difficult topics that led to unity in making SA truly a place for men and women together.
Retreats are my favorite part of the SA program and a great way to meet fellows that I don’t normally see. This was my second retreat, and I enjoyed playing basketball, foosball, pool, ping pong, and cards until midnight (oh, and getting to grow deeper in my relationships with others and God).
Saturday Dec 13, 2025
Saturday Dec 13, 2025
Congratulations to Glenn P. for winning first place and to Yanif G. for winning second place in the Best Caption Contest. Both captions are featured in this printed edition.
Are you ready for another caption challenge?
We invite you to craft the perfect recovery caption for the cartoon above, centered on February’s theme, “A Great Caution is Advised". If your caption wins, you will receive a print copy of the February edition. Don't miss out—the submission deadline is January 15. Send your entry to essay@sa.org. Unleash your creativity, and may the cleverest caption win!
Saturday Dec 13, 2025
Saturday Dec 13, 2025
Our next edition’s theme is “A Great Caution is Advised.” This caution is in the White Book on page three, "We suggest that newcomers...not reveal their sexual past to a spouse or family member who does not already know of it, without careful consideration..." Similar caution is in the Big Book. Page 81 says, "If we are sure our wife does not know, should we tell her? Not always, we think." These cautions introduce the idea that there is a difference between relaying information that helps build up or that which can harm a loved one. Pausing and taking the necessary time while taking the Steps helps prepare one to be in a better place to decide such matters and therefore truly help that individual.