Breaking Night
Published on 20. January 2011
Book
Hardback
432 pages
978-1-84605-870-7 (ISBN)
Description
Liz Murray never really had a chance in life. Born to a drug-addicted father who was in and out of prison, and an equally dependent mother who was in and out of mental institutions, she seemed destined to become just another tragic statistic. Another life wasted on the brutal streets of New York.
By the age of 15, Liz found herself homeless with nowhere to turn but the tough streets, riding subways all night for a warm place to sleep and foraging through dumpsters for food. But when her mother died of AIDS a year later, Liz's life changed for ever. With no education, with no chance at a job or a home, she realised that only the most astonishing of turnarounds could stop her heading all the way down the same path her parents took. And so she set her mind to overcoming what seemed like impossible odds - and in the process, achieved something extraordinary.
Told with astounding sincerity, Breaking Night is the breathtaking and inspirational story of how a young women, born into a world without hope, used every ounce of strength and determination to steer herself towards a brighter future. Beautifully written, it is a poignant, evocative and stirring portrait of struggle, desperation, forgiveness and survival.
By the age of 15, Liz found herself homeless with nowhere to turn but the tough streets, riding subways all night for a warm place to sleep and foraging through dumpsters for food. But when her mother died of AIDS a year later, Liz's life changed for ever. With no education, with no chance at a job or a home, she realised that only the most astonishing of turnarounds could stop her heading all the way down the same path her parents took. And so she set her mind to overcoming what seemed like impossible odds - and in the process, achieved something extraordinary.
Told with astounding sincerity, Breaking Night is the breathtaking and inspirational story of how a young women, born into a world without hope, used every ounce of strength and determination to steer herself towards a brighter future. Beautifully written, it is a poignant, evocative and stirring portrait of struggle, desperation, forgiveness and survival.
Reviews / Votes
It's a white-knuckle account of survival, marked by desperation, brutality and fear, set in the wilds of the Bronx...Breaking Night itself is full of heart, without a sliver of ice, and deeply moving -- Tara McKelvey * The New York Times * Liz Murray shows us that the human spirit has infinite ability to grow and can never be limited by circumstance. Breaking Night is a beautifully written, heartfelt memoir that will change the way you look at your community, the obstacles in your own life, and the American Dream. An inspiration; a must-read. -- Robert Redford As much as it is a memoir, Breaking Night is a primer on how poverty and drug abuse create a heartbreaking underclass of children, one that goes largely unnoticed. By the truly uplifting ending, Liz Murray has shown us the worst, and the very best, of America. -- Haven Kimmel, author of A Girl Named Zippy and She Got Up Off The Couch In tender and graceful prose, Murray gives us the uncompromising and searing story of a forgotten family and devastated childhood. She reminds us that the greatest acts of love and failure can occur side by side; that isolation and loss can give way to accomplishment and promise. She offers the awesome hope that, regardless of its past, a life can go beyond endurance and reach for triumph. She leaves us with the memory of a child who clung to and refused to surrender the dignity of her soul. -- Andrew Bridge, author of Hope's Boy Liz Murray's startling and beautifully written memoir is a story of one young woman's tenacity, ingenuity, brilliance and compassion. It not only shows us the fierce, triumphant spirit of teenage girls, but that of the human spirit, as well. * Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues and I am An Emotional Creature *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cornerstone
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 144 mm
Thickness: 39 mm
Weight
562 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84605-870-7 (9781846058707)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Liz Murray completed high school and won a New York Times scholarship while homeless, and graduated from Harvard University in 2009. She has been awarded The White House Project Role Model Award, a Christopher Award, as well as the Chutzpah Award, which was given to her by Oprah Winfrey. Lifetime Television produced a film about Murray's life, Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story. The founder and director of Manifest Living, a New York-based company that empowers adults to create the results they want in their own lives, today Murray travels the world delivering motivational speeches and conducting workshops to inspire others.