Joni discusses her long journey with compulsive eating and her path to recovery through various programs. She recounts her struggles with dieting, and her initial experiences in Overeaters Anonymous. She eventually became one of the founders of the Primary Purpose Group of Overeaters Anonymous (PPGOA), and is committed to helping others find recovery by applying the principles of the Big Book. Joni emphasizes the importance of spiritual awakening, consistent action, and service as key elements to maintaining her sobriety and a fulfilling life.
Interviewer: Thanks for being here. To begin, can you share your story with compulsive eating? What brought you to the rooms?
Joni: Sure. My struggles with food and weight go back as far as I can remember. I was a dancer from the time I was three, majored in dance in college, and worked professionally as a choreographer and teacher until about 25 years ago. I was always around anorexics and bulimics in the dance world, and I honestly aspired to be one. I thought I was a complete failure because I couldn’t starve myself long-term or make myself throw up. I would restrict until I couldn’t take it, then binge. It was a horrible cycle.
By 1989, I had tried my last diet—Nutrisystem. I told myself, “This is it. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work.” And, of course, it didn’t. Just like every other diet I had ever tried. I finally gave up and said, “I’m just going to be fat.” But after the holidays, a friend invited me to a meeting. I had no idea what Overeaters Anonymous was. The only thing I knew about 12-step programs was from my ex’s family—there was one sober uncle in AA, and everyone else shunned him. So I figured there was something weird about it.
But I went. I walked into that OA meeting and saw people who looked like me. They said, “If you’re here, you’re in the right place.” Nobody “qualified” me, and I didn’t know what that meant. But I stayed. They said, “Try six meetings before you decide.” So I went to six—and I never left.
Interviewer: What happened after those first few meetings?
Joni: Well, I started using the tools, and my eating changed. I began having three meals a day instead of grazing all day. I still thought of them as feeding times, but over time, they became more structured. Eventually, I was having actual breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
But it got harder and harder to maintain abstinence. That’s when I realized I wasn’t just a compulsive overeater—I was a food addict. I couldn’t eat certain substances at all. I followed the Kay Sheppard food plan, joined meetings with people who did the same, and it worked… for a while.
But eventually, I started relying more and more on tools. By the end of five years, I was going to eight meetings a week, sponsoring tons of people, constantly on the phone, doing every step study I could find. I was trying everything, and yet—I was back in the food.
Every single day for the next five years, I woke up saying, “Today’s the day I’m going to follow the food plan.” And every single day, I didn’t.
Interviewer: So what changed? What was the turning point?
Joni: April 18th, 2001. I found myself face-down in the shower, sobbing, screaming, begging: “God, I cannot stop eating.” I didn’t say, “I can’t stop eating sugar” or “I can’t stop eating chips.” I meant everything. I said, “I will do anything. You are my only hope. Just tell me what to do.”
I didn’t know it at the time, but I had taken Steps 1, 2, and 3 right there in that shower. Something happened—something spiritual. That night, a woman I had previously sponsored came over and said, “Can you help me with that wacky food plan?” I took it as a sign. We both started back on the plan.
I got a sponsor. I went back to meetings. I did the steps again, in every way I could find. Eventually, I joined a Big Book Awakening study group. We didn’t have a leader—just a group working through the steps. That study helped me understand what happened in the shower. That day, I truly took Steps 1, 2, and 3—and I haven’t had the mental obsession since.
Interviewer: Is that what led you to help found PPGOA?
Joni: Yes. After I recovered, I wanted to help others get what I had been given. The first group I studied with wasn’t seeing results—people were still binging, still angry and fearful. Around that time, I discovered the Primary Purpose Group of AA and reached out to Cliff Bishop, who had founded it. His sponsor was Joe from the Joe & Charlie tapes.
Cliff started sponsoring me and taught me how to carry the message from the Big Book. But since he wasn’t a compulsive eater, he couldn’t take me through Steps 12. That part I had to live through myself.
I came to realize that my problem wasn’t “food addiction.” My problem was compulsive eating—using food for every reason except nourishment. Once I got clear on the problem, the solution (God), and the program of recovery (the Big Book steps), we started what became the Primary Purpose Group of Overeaters Anonymous—PPGOA.
Interviewer: So PPGOA started in 2011?
Joni: That’s when the name PPGOA came about. Before that, we had been part of OA, and then OAPP. But eventually, as our clarity grew, it was clear we needed a group conscience that reflected our shared understanding. Cliff had told me, “You need a group with clarity.” Wendy and I went down to Dallas and spent a day with Cliff, walking through exactly what it would take to start a group grounded in clarity. We came back with a group conscience outline in hand, and as we spoke with the people we were sponsoring, those who fully aligned with our vision chose to join us in forming the new group. And so, about 20 or 30 of us came together and formed PPGOA.
We modeled ourselves on the Primary Purpose Group in Dallas. We wrote out a group conscience: the problem is compulsive eating, the solution is God, and the program of recovery is the Twelve Steps as outlined in the Big Book. And we’ve stuck to that ever since.
If we didn’t have answers, we reached out to them. When I was sponsoring in OA early on, I honestly didn’t know how to run my own life, let alone guide someone else. I often just gave it my best guess, and it didn’t always work. But once I recovered and truly learned how to carry the message, I went back and made a lot of amends.
Interviewer: What was the most difficult part of this journey for you?
Joni: Finding a solution that actually works. For years, I was told to “take what you like and leave the rest.” That never worked for me. If my way worked, I wouldn’t have needed recovery.
I mean, if I had any idea how to do this myself, I wouldn’t have needed to go to a meeting—at least, I wouldn’t have stayed after the first one. But the truth is, like I said in the shower that day, I cannot do this. I am absolutely powerless. I had no good ideas, no brilliant solutions. And that was hard to admit because I always thought I was a smart person. I really believed I could figure it out on my own. But I couldn’t. I really couldn’t.
But here’s the thing: I don’t have to stay in the disease. The Big Book tells us that we will recover—not just be “recovering” for the rest of our lives, but actually recover. And that was a huge shift for me. In a lot of meetings, I was told I’d be sick forever, and that calling myself “recovered” was arrogant or even dangerous. But the Big Book doesn’t say that. It says that if we do this work, we recover.
And that’s my experience. Since April 18, 2001, I have not had the mental obsession. That doesn’t mean I don’t have thoughts—of course, I do—but thoughts are not obsession. And I’m not powerless over my thinking. The Tenth Step tells us we will “resolutely turn our thoughts” to something else. And I can do that. I do that.
So when I get that thought—maybe I want to eat something I shouldn’t—I pause. I ask myself: Am I really hungry? Maybe I am, and my body just needs to be nourished. Or maybe I’m afraid. Maybe I’m angry. Maybe I’m just restless or agitated and need to pause and ask God for direction. But I’ve learned to do the work to figure out what’s really going on—not just feed a feeling with food.
That’s what it means to live in Steps 10, 11, and 12. And when I do that, those food thoughts go away. They really do. I’m not triggered anymore by certain foods, even the ones I used to binge on. I mean, if God said to me, “Joni, have pizza for breakfast, chocolate cake for lunch, and chips with soda for dinner,” I wouldn’t mind! But here’s the thing—God doesn’t guide me that way.
God tells me to put good fuel in my body, just like He tells me to put good fuel in my car. If I poured orange juice into my gas tank, my car wouldn’t run. And I won’t run well if I’m putting garbage into my body. If I want to be of service, I need to take care of the vessel.
Now, there may be times when God says, “It’s okay to have that.” And if I truly believe that guidance is coming from God, then it won’t trigger my disease. It won’t bring on the mental obsession or the physical allergy. Because God will never put me in harm’s way. Only I can do that.
Interviewer: How do you manage to sponsor so many people?
Joni: I don’t take on ten newcomers in one day! And going through the steps doesn’t take long. Sometimes a few days. Often a week or two. I’ve been recovering from surgery recently, so I haven’t taken on many new people, but I still hear from others every day. They send their 10th and 11th Step inventories, and if something comes up, they call.
Once someone recovers, we walk together. They’re not accountable to me—they’re accountable to God. We help each other when we’re stuck. And when questions come up, we try to find the truth using the Big Book and guidance from those who’ve gone before us.
Interviewer: After 24 years of recovery, what keeps you going?
Joni: My life is so much better. Why would I stop now? I’m selfish. I like my life, and it keeps getting better. The more I practice 10, 11, and 12, the more I grow in understanding and effectiveness.
I absolutely refuse to go back to where I was. I didn’t want to be alive. But now I do. And the Big Book gave me the directions for how to live. It’s not optional. It’s do it or die.
Interviewer: What inspires you most about working with people?
Joni: I just love people—especially newcomers. These days it’s all online, but I love hearing the “light go on” when someone sees the truth in inventory. Resentments that tied them up for years start to lose their grip. It’s freeing.
Nobody else has to change for me to recover. Only I do—and I have the directions.
Interviewer: What’s the most rewarding part of being in PPGOA?
Joni: Living this life. Being of service—not just in OA, but in my relationships, my family, my work. I left a terrible marriage. I’ve been with my partner now for 20 years. I retired from a meaningful career. None of that would have happened without recovery. It’s all a gift.
Interviewer: What’s one action you’d recommend to someone who’s still struggling?
Joni: Get a sponsor who has gone through the steps as outlined in the Big Book. Or call me. Really—I mean it. I don’t say no to people unless I absolutely have to. If I can’t help, I’ll connect you with someone who can.
Interviewer: Any final thoughts?
Joni: If you have questions, call me. I’d rather talk directly than have things get lost in translation. I know I talk in circles sometimes—my background is in dance, nonverbal communication is my specialty! But I’ll always try to be clear. And if I’m not, there are people who can “translate Joni-talk.”
©2026 Experience Strength & Hope Newsletter,
All rights reserved. Proudly sponsored by OA Foot Steps VIG #09670.
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