The normal feeling of the newcomer is either “I am home” or “I am in hell,” but it doesn’t seem to matter. We can make it with both feelings. Sometimes those who are the most cynical, stubborn, and negative hang around the longest to get the new attitude. 

Nineteen years ago, I sat in the back row weighing over 300 pounds (137 kg). I was an equal- opportunity hater, and I hated everyone in the room. Today I have learned to love those same people; because of them and with my Higher Power’s grace, I have maintained a weight loss of over 100 pounds (45 kg) for eighteen years. 

Over the years, I have learned that it is much easier to keep my abstinence than to lose it and try to get it back. We share our mistakes with one another so that we can learn from each other. This program works because it is about changing through the Twelve Steps. My sponsor and I still attend a weekly Step-study meeting; they told me when I was a newcomer that the directions are in the Steps. 

If you are new, keep coming back. Don’t listen to your head since it will probably lead you away from recovery. Listen to your heart because this is a program of the heart. Read the promises because they were made for us.  

— Lifeline, January 1996