Rising Shadows Above the Blemishes speaks to the potential winner that lies within all of us. The author emphasizes that success cannot be the product of wishful thinking and pretense, that we must learn to crawl on the bottom before we can rise to the top. Attitudes that are essential to achieving success are illustrated in the true story of a young man named Max who believed in himself and refused to surrender to circumstances in his efforts to overcome poverty and unfair treatment. Max, a common individual, became a gracious winner.