The songwriter was unconscious, but his voice filled the operating room. Mike Frazier’s dirty-blond locks had been partially shaved and his head sanitized. The surgeon standing over him slid his blade in a crescent over Frazier’s right ear and tugged his scalp into position. Then he began opening a window into the musician’s brain.

The task that day was to reach and remove the cause of the grievous pain that had besieged and mystified Frazier for years. After almost a decade as a folk-rock singer with a rollicking vibe and a knack for storytelling, piercing stomach pain had stymied his songwriting and drawn him into a dangerous depression before he turned 30.

This story explores Frazier’s condition, diagnosis and recovery through the songs he would write about the experience. 

Michael Laris reported, wrote and narrated the piece. Bishop Sand composed music and produced audio.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.