Most of us walk through each day expecting few surprises. If we want to better ourselves or our lives, we map out a path of gradual change; perhaps in therapy or a 12-step group. University of New Mexico psychologists William Miller and Janet C'de Baca were longtime scholars and teachers of this approach to self-improvement when they became intrigued by a different sort of change that was sometimes experienced by people and often described as "a bolt from the blue" or "seeing the light." When they placed a request in a local newspaper for people's stories of unexpected personal transformation, the deluge of of responses was astounding.