GAYS IN RECOVERY
One member shares:
I'm Kelly and I'm an addict. I'm 36 years old and I'm also gay. I've known about NA since
the late
eighties. That was the first time I walked through the doors. I came in with the attitude
that people
here could'nt possibly understand me and my sexual orientation. Needless to say that the
only thing
that made me different was my disease telling me I was different.
My disease kept me isolated and feeling that I must be the only homosexual
in the world that wanted to get clean. I came to NA again eighteen months ago because I
was sick and tired of being sick and tired. This time I took the suggestions of other
addicts. I made 90 in 90, got a sponser, start working my steps, prayed to a higher power
and today I have come to realize that I'm not the only one with problems of living life on
life's terms. We're all addicts and need to find the simularities and not focus on
what differences we may think we have. My disease told me I was different and as a result
i almost died in active use. For me, I think I'll drop the label of being gay. I'll drop
the lable of being a man. Drop the lable of being whatever. I'm addict and my name is
Kelly. That's what I am in the rooms of Narcotics Anonymous. - Kelly S. - Dalton, Georgia
USA January 1999
I have gone to several "gay" NA meetings and you know what? They
were just like any
other NA meetings that I have been to. The area that I'm from has several gay meetings but
we
also have men's and women's meetings..I have never been anything but welcome at any that I
have attended.. While I have some mixed feelings about tailoring the NA meeting to certain
groups by way of gender or sexual orientation..I believe that this is also my HP's way of
getting
someones attention then after we get it then we put the spurs to our disease - Pokiepat
USA
I thought I would jot down some thoughts that are in my head lately. I think back and I
realize that
most everyone I use to hang with in active addiction is either dead or dying, most of them
from
AIDS. And then there was the death of my parents in 94 and 95. I figured I'd "gone
through"
these events and learned the lessons needed.
Thats when a suffering addict came through the doors using and had the news of his own positive test result and had known for some time. In my heart I wanted to be there and try to help. But in my head, I wanted to run as far away as I could. Selfish among other things. In talking to my sponser I realized that I never went through the death of a loved one at all. I medicated the feelings and emotions that I was suppose to go through.
I pray I can walk through my own selfish fears with my Higher Power guiding me and be
of some
service in helping the still suffering addict. Its kind of like, get out of yourself, get
off your ass, and
do something Kelly.- More later, Kelly S.
Other members share:
I like the tone of this chapter. It seems to be keeping with our 12th tradition. Untill I
learned to
relate to All others in NA I felt alone. This disease could care less about who I sleep
with. It is out
to kill all of us!
Many NA members are confused about their sexuality when they get clean. Others come to
deal with these areas of honest confusion when they are working their Steps. Thank God we
can be open about problems, whatever they may be!
Begun June 1999
Reprinted from the
N.A. FELLOWSHIP USE ONLY
Copyright � December 1998
Victor Hugo Sewell, Jr.
N.A. Foundation Group
340 Woodstone Drive - Marietta, Georgia 30068
[email protected]
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All rights reserved. This draft may be copied by members of Narcotics Anonymous for the purpose of writing input for future drafts, enhancing the recovery of NA members and for the general welfare of the Narcotics Anonymous Fellowship as a whole. The use of an individual name is simply a registration requirement of the Library of Congress and not a departure from the spirit or letter of the Pledge, Preface or Introduction of this book. Any reproduction by individuals or organizations outside the Fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous is prohibited. Any reproduction of this document for personal or corporate monetary gain is prohibited.
Last update June 6, 2001