There is a guy in the class who is an older student and an alcoholic who often writes about this issue. When I ask him about it and he says he doesn’t drink in the day just evenings. Maybe that’s true. His lyrics are often about feeling impotent and/ or like Jekyll and Hyde. He writes about shame and being out of control or about starting over and winning this war or later losing it or losing his mind. The pieces alternate between high and low, up and down, right and wrong. The classmates are held in suspense, many have alcoholics in their lives. His work usually leads to discussions about everyone’s experiences with alcoholism in the family. Some say they wish they could bring their parents to the class to listen, some say this isn’t about songwriting but group therapy. I think that’s why Mendelson Joe named his last record Art is The Healer.