I am delighted to be Bella’s new 12 Step Recovery Online Editor. I believe I have many qualifications to hold this position but none as great as the fact that I am in a 12 Step Recovery Program.

The goal of my newsletter which I am calling, “Keep It Simple”, is to reach out to all of you already involved in a 12 Step program; those of you who aren’t sure if you should be in a 12 Step program; concerned friends and family members of loved ones either in or not in a program; and lastly, anyone who is just plain interested, curious and wants to know more.

Every week I will be sending “Keep It Simple” to my readers and it will include a link to my latest article, suggest a forum thread, reviews/recommendations to books, publications, TV shows, BellaOnline articles in other areas or anything else that comes my way that I feel would be helpful to you.

Because many readers will be new to recovery, I will answer some of the more basic questions such as “What can I expect of a 12 Step Recovery program”? “Do I need a sponsor?” “What if I relapse?” “Do I tell anyone I am in recovery?” Any question you might have is important not just to me, but to other readers and can become the subject of articles, so feel free to ask or suggest.

I sincerely hope that you will sign up for this newsletter. I want to remind you that BellaOnline never divulges an email address to anyone and, likewise, I respect the anonymity of all of my readers. You may have noticed that I did not use my full name on this site. This is certainly not because I am ashamed or embarrassed that I have an addiction but because my name is not all that important. What is important is “principles before personalities” and being a woman in recovery is far more important than a name.

Remember that 12 Step Recovery programs are “we” programs and we are all in this together! Unlike any other type of group I can think of, we cross every social, economic, religious, political, cultural, age and geographic line. That makes us rather unique, wouldn’t you agree?

Once again, I invite you to subscribe to “Keep It Simple”. Although it is used primarily in yoga, the Sanskrit word “namaste” loosely translated means that I recognize the Divine in you. So, I say to all of you, namaste’. May you walk your journey in peace and harmony!