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Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard by Liz Murray

Non-fiction. 334 pages. 5 Stars.

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Synopsis: 

In the vein of The Glass CastleBreaking 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, when her family finally unraveled, Murray 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. 

Eventually, Murray 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. She 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.

My Review:

To preface this, my fifth-grade teacher–whom I have stayed in contact with over the years–sent me this book this summer (2016). I am now a college student pursuing a career in education. She sent this book to me with a note saying that she “Every future teacher should read this book.” I am so utterly thankful for her and having finished the book, I see why she said what she did.

Breaking Night is emotionally charged, utterly bittersweet, and completely compelling. It’s…inspirational to say the least, but something more. It’s real and it’s honest. The book is well-written, intriguing, and solid from a writing standpoint. It is a memoir, which usually isn’t up my alley, but this memoir reads very easily. It was almost like picking up a fictional story with elements that drew me in as a reader, had me on the edge of my seat, in tears, and tossing and turning at night. The story itself, as I’ve said, was absolutely heart-wrenching. Liz Murray held nothing back and God’s given her quite a story to tell. What she has overcome, her passion for life, and everything in her person, her character, is simply beautiful.

A warning: I would not–I repeat NOT–ever give this to a child to read. I don’t care how mature they are. If it’s that important they get this message, find another way to tell them. This book contains explicit material, vivid images, and some downright graphic thematic elements. These were each and every instance appropriate to the story, necessary even, but I would not expose a young audience to this. Personally, I seriously doubt I would be okay with giving it to my younger, high-school-aged sister. Some things are brutal and need careful consideration. Please take a moment to contemplate the audience before you present them with or recommend to them this book. If you want to give this to someone, be sure you have read the book yourself first and that you know the person very well. That said, I would read this book again. I thoroughly enjoyed it and have a very high respect both for the work and for the author herself.