Do survivors-of trauma, loss, abuse-gain a "secret knowledge" about life from their experience? Mark Matousek, a survivor fascinated with the enigma of survival, draws on interviews with an enslaved Sudanese boy, a Tibetan nun tortured for her belief, an Auschwitz prisoner, a Vietnam P.O.W., as well as noted thinkers and spiritual teachers Ram Daas, Stanley Kunitz, Eckhart Tolle, and Mother Meera. In distilling the many experiences, Matousek shows how enduring hardship can transform a person, refine his character, and alchemize catastrophe into living wisdom.