For a great example of someone dignifying their values with pain, I can whole-heartedly recommend the autobiography "Things the grandchildren should know" by Mark Everett (Lead singer of the band Eels). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Things_the_Grandchildren_Should_Know
From publisher:
How does one young man survive the deaths of his entire family and manage to make something of his life? The insecure son of a misunderstood genius of quantum mechanics, Mark Oliver Everett's upbringing was "ridiculous, sometimes tragic, and always unsteady." But somehow he survived this and ensuing tragedies, channeling his experiences into his critically acclaimed music with the Eels.
Told with surprising candor, his memoir is an inspiring and remarkable story, full of hope, humor, and wry wisdom.