And grew into:

• a fellowship of more than 1,000 members

• face-to-face meetings in more than a dozen states

• a group of people whose lives will never be the same

The History of Recovery in the Lifestyle

As written by Stormy in 2006

On July 17, 2005, my life changed once again in a positive direction: Recovery in the Lifestyle (RitL) and our first meeting! It took months of putting it all together, but it was like starting any other anonymous group. It only takes two to have a meeting, but at our first meeting, 36 people came. We had recovery members, friends, and what we called supporters back then. Everyone was welcome, as they are today.

Here in FT Lauderdale, we have a faithful member who came to the first meeting on July 17, 2005 and has continued through all these years until today. The beauty is that he has not had a drink during this time.

In the beginning before any first meeting even started, Jimmy Tatu introduced me to Doc. Doc has over 20 years in recovery, Doc sat with me and went over everything even reminding me of things I had forgotten about. His help will never be forgotten, along with MJ, Sharron, Cage, Carol, and so many others I can’t remember all the names. But does it matter? We all worked hard to make it happen.

At the end of February, I started correspondence with Linda at General Services in New York; this went on for three months, with mostly phone calls explaining what RitL was, who it helped, and where this meeting would happen. Many questions and too many that had no answers. The final General Service meeting was scheduled, and I was still unsure how to present the group, but I knew that I had to present them with something important the next day. So I prayed and meditated the whole night. The next day, GS called and said, “Okay, Stormy, give me something to bring to the table.” So I started to explain to her that I had two men over 6 feet tall who loved to wear tutus and makeup. “Can you imagine them going to an AA, NA, OA, etc. meeting and not being judged or laughed at?” She said, “Thank you, Stormy, that will do it.”

Within 1 day I received an express envelope and I was then reading the official approval of RitL!

You can read this letter here!

Please take time to read it along with many other great letters of people who support our family. Now we are many in 9 different states, we have patches, informational flyers and growing each and every day.

Editorial Note: This writing has been edited for grammar and punctuation purposes only. 

From RITL GS Steering Committee:

RitL’s founder, Stormy, was a devoted servant and member. Supporting other members in their recovery and holding it as a personal mission to spread the word of Recovery for anyone suffering from any addiction, anywhere in the world, both in and out of the rooms of Recovery.

Shortly after Stormy passed, one of our members received a package of stickers, patches, and a handwritten note.

Even as her life was fading away, RitL was still in her heart and on her mind… and a grieving family member honored one of her final wishes by putting the package in the mail.

Stormy is forever in our hearts…

Thank you!