Breaking Night
1st Edition
Published on 20. January 2011
432 pages
978-1-4464-4056-8 (ISBN)
Description
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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.
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.
Reviews / Votes
This incredibly moving memoir is full of hope and courage * The Sun * Thrilling...Murray is clearly a remarkable person * Sunday Times Culture * Breaking Night is the real deal... Liz had every reason to give up on life, but instead of using her grim childhood as an excuse to fail, she used it to fuel her redemption... Amazing * Grazia * Smart, fluent, and relentlessly spry...head and shoulders above the rest, because Liz Murray is remarkable * The Observer * A powerful story to tell * Woman * A rare and comprehensive firsthand account of being homeless in America * Big Issue * Remarkable * BBC World Service * The book is lucid and vivid and rich * Saturday Times Magazine * A frank recollection of her journey from a childhood marred with drug addiction to an Ivy League graduate via an adolescence spent on the streets...an instant hit * Daily Express *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cornerstone
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
File size
0,79 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-4464-4056-8 (9781446440568)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
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.
