The Special Appeal is a tri-annual request from the S-Anon World Service Office for 7th Tradition donations. Please share this appeal with your group and consider making a contribution today!
Dear Fellow S-Anon Members,
I am an editor on the S-Anon Literature Committee (LC) and am currently working with one of our paid special workers, a professional formatter for our literature projects. We are in the final phase of preparing a new book for publishing, titled Along the Journey: The Story of S-Anon’s First Forty Years. I am honored to have served as the sponsoring editor of this project, working closely with one other editor, for the past six years. This book documents our collective spiritual journey of challenges and triumphs from 1983 through 2023, our first forty years. The two fellowships that helped to show a path for us, Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon, have published books documenting their history. Over the years, members have inquired about when S-Anon would have a history book. That time is here.
The process of creating this book illustrates that S-Anon is a “we” program. Countless members answered questionnaires, filled in history gaps, and participated in phone interviews. Over several years, two former members of the S-Anon Archives Committee sorted, transcribed, and organized documents. Based on their research, they created a draft manuscript and in 2018 released it to the LC to take through the S-Anon Conference Approved Literature (CAL) process. The draft was reviewed and edited by the LC, which currently includes seven editors and nineteen readers. The LC and Board of Trustees (BOT) members participated in approving the manuscript as CAL. As stated in the book’s introduction: “Along the Journey gives us an opportunity to take an objective look at our fellowship’s development. It invites us to recognize our many strengths as well as admit our shortcomings.” This book describes historical events and documents the growth of our fellowship. It also includes many quotes from early members reflecting on their personal experiences.
Even though the LC and BOT members are volunteers, publishing CAL is a great expense for the S-Anon fellowship. I hope this book will inspire your personal recovery and will bring home the importance of giving back to our fellowship in service “in order to keep what we have been given.” I encourage each of you to consider donating to this special appeal to support the publishing and printing of our Conference Approved Literature and all the other important work at our World Service Office. Contributions can be made online at https://www.sanon.org/donate, through PayPal at paypal.me/sanonwso, on Venmo to @sanon_wso www.venmo.com/u/sanon_wso, or via postal mail to S-Anon WSO, P.O. Box 17294, Nashville, TN 37217.
Along the Journey: The Story of S-Anon’s First Forty Years will be published soon. Announcements will be made in the WSO Update when it is available for purchase.
Yours in grateful service,
Deb C., Literature Committee Editor