In this piece, alcoholism is presented as a curse that can afflict even the gentlest and nicest of people. It is a brief but poignant description of the way in which parents’ faults can torment the lives of their children. Zack’s mother was an alcoholic and he attributes all the major problems in his present life to her illness. Indeed, it is impossible not to draw a direct link between his mother’s abandonment of him and his subsequent life in and out of foster homes and later, his incarceration. He does not have faith in his own freewill and believes that he is predetermined to be an alcoholic. He doesn’t seem to have many people in his life who are willing to negate this idea either. He calls his sister and his grandmother and they all seem to share the same dread that he will end up an alcoholic. (His sister even reminds him of scientific facts and draws attention to the fact that his father’s alcoholism further increases his own susceptibility to the illness). No doubt this mantra has unfortunately been repeated to him through his entire life. “Alcoholic at Birth” is a real portrait of an incarnated soul. Interestingly, because of his mother’s absence and utter neglect of him as a child, he seems more under her influence than the average person. An interesting lesson is presented in this piece: part of being a good parent is allowing your child to distinguish themselves from you. By the end you are left rooting for Zack, that he will discover his own potential, independent of his biology. It is this potential that might ultimately define us as human beings and not just case studies.