In her book, Hidden Heroes, Misti Burmeister gazes long into the mirror, confronts her image with all these questions, and suddenly finds herself on an amazing quest of self discovery. As she narrates the twists and turns of her adventure, encountering past demons, and realizing vast reserves of strength, she proves that while, as Socrates says, "the unexamined life is not worth living," the examined life is certainly not for the faint-hearted, but well worth the trouble. Seeing the reality of our past, our family, our friends, our successes, our struggles and even our meanest moments in the true light of compassion transforms the world, and all the everyday people into something truly extraordinary. After the long journey inward, the hero (who is Misti Burmeister, you, me, all of us) radiates light outward, and we are left gazing upon a world in which everyone can shine.