Tragedies can destroy lives. They can also renew them. Nathan Dell Goodwin grew up in a very happy family. Then he lost his much loved mother to uterine cancer when he was fourteen years old. As a result he began cutting himself and engaging in other self-destructive behaviors. He then lost his first, and only, girlfriend within the following year. On his sixteenth birthday he was arrested for several crimes committed during a violently drunken spree. He was institutionalized as a result. Upon his release, he soon lost his idolized older brother to what looked to him as a suicide. By the time he reached seventeen years of age, he lost his father to a massive stroke. Throughout these experiences, and with the help of others - some who are assigned his case and others who are friends of the family - Nate learns to cope with life on its own terms. Not incidentally, he inherits wealth, security, and support. His is not a journey out of darkness, it is a journey through darkness. Nate finds that there is indeed light on the other side. His is a story of endurance, compassion, and inspiration.