Breaking Night
By Liz Murray
- Release Date: 2010-09-07
- Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Description
In the vein of The Glass Castle, Breaking Night is the stunning memoir of a young woman who at age fifteen was living on the streets, and who eventually made it into Harvard.
Liz Murray was born to loving but drug-addicted parents in the Bronx. In school she was taunted for her dirty clothing and lice-infested hair, eventually skipping so many classes that she was put into a girls' home. At age fifteen, Liz found herself on the streets. She learned to scrape by, foraging for food and riding subways all night to have a warm place to sleep.
When Liz's mother died of AIDS, she decided to take control of her own destiny and go back to high school, often completing her assignments in the hallways and subway stations where she slept. Liz squeezed four years of high school into two, while homeless; won a New York Times scholarship; and made it into the Ivy League. Breaking Night is an unforgettable and beautifully written story of one young woman's indomitable spirit to survive and prevail, against all odds.
Reviews
A wonderful memoir
5By Go Live On PurposeThe love she had for her parents is amazing. And also the determination to follow her dreams is very inspirational.Breaking Night
5By Homeless to HarvardLiz Murray's story of her childhood, and her determination to survive made me feel proud of her and, allowed me to celebrate my own triumph over my own childhood. Homeless to Harvard provides the reader with a 'horrible' insight into the lives of the millions of people who live in fear of living on the street, of not enough to eat and fear of life. Many of us who come from families ridden with drugs and alcohol learn to 'reinvent' ourselves. However, no matter how many changes we experience we still are tied to our parents and our beginnings. Liz's love for her family of origin was real and accepting and gave her the ability to love others, truly amazing story! DonnaGreat Book
5By dylanjnomeThis book is a great book! I didn’t want to put it down! It gets really deep into detail about some of the rough times a homeless person has to go through, it’s a very touching story.Breaking night
5By redhawk1This book had a profound effect on my heart and soul. I also came from a loving family along with strong spiritual roots but this book reminds you how poverty keeps a strong hold on your self identity and how you can easily put limits on your goals because of it. This book helped remind me that we are all just people and we determine our own destiny by our choices. AMAZING READ!!