Instead, what I was beginning to understand was that however things unfolded from here on, whatever the next chapter was, my life could never be the sum of one circumstance. It would be determined, as it had always been, by my willingness to put one foot in front of the other, moving forward, come what may.” Elizabeth Murray, In her most compelling memoir Breaking Night : A memoir for forgiveness, survival, and my journey from homeless to Harvard, Murray immerses the reader into a powerful journey from an impoverished family dynamic surviving the mean streets of New York City to speaking with his holiness the Dalai Lama. Liz Murray is a survivalist and her memoir is a beautiful story of one young woman at the tender age of 15 years old, with
…show more content…
Liz’s father, the college academic turned local drug lord in and out of prison with a lack of conscientiousness in parenting, later in his life died of AIDS. Murray’s mother said “Ma used coke, shooting dissolved white dust into her veins; it traveled through her body much like lightning, igniting her, giving the feel, however fleeting, of something forward-moving, day in and day out.” Murray’s parents living on welfare assistance would use the funds given to support their children to fuel their cocaine addiction, during this time Murray and her sister Lisa struggled to survive. The two sisters relied on the convenience of egg salad sandwiches, occasionally in desperation resorting to consuming cherry chapstick to fill her stomach. It is said in the memoir that liz’s mother whom suffered from schizophrenia as well left her alone with a child molester, a man who also supplied Murray's mother’s drug habit. Despite the heinous acts and questionable parenting, Murray loved her mother. It's said her mother had lived by this mantra “ One day life is going to get better” sadly, she eventually died battling AIDS at the age of 42 while Liz was only 15. After due to Liz’s father no longer being able afford the roach filled Bronx apartment, liz was homeless living underground in the New York Metro 24-hour subway stations. This time of Liz’s life was tumultuous and what she describes “rebellious” however, it was during this time she had the revelation. Murray said "Like my mother, I was always saying, 'I'll fix my life one day.' It became clear when I saw her die without fulfilling her dreams that my time was now or maybe never.” This shows it was time to make right, it was time for Liz to take control of her life. It was that epiphany that was the catalyst to what would be a completed high school education, and a scholarship to an ivy league university to later inspire
Liz’s father, the college academic turned local drug lord in and out of prison with a lack of conscientiousness in parenting, later in his life died of AIDS. Murray’s mother said “Ma used coke, shooting dissolved white dust into her veins; it traveled through her body much like lightning, igniting her, giving the feel, however fleeting, of something forward-moving, day in and day out.” Murray’s parents living on welfare assistance would use the funds given to support their children to fuel their cocaine addiction, during this time Murray and her sister Lisa struggled to survive. The two sisters relied on the convenience of egg salad sandwiches, occasionally in desperation resorting to consuming cherry chapstick to fill her stomach. It is said in the memoir that liz’s mother whom suffered from schizophrenia as well left her alone with a child molester, a man who also supplied Murray's mother’s drug habit. Despite the heinous acts and questionable parenting, Murray loved her mother. It's said her mother had lived by this mantra “ One day life is going to get better” sadly, she eventually died battling AIDS at the age of 42 while Liz was only 15. After due to Liz’s father no longer being able afford the roach filled Bronx apartment, liz was homeless living underground in the New York Metro 24-hour subway stations. This time of Liz’s life was tumultuous and what she describes “rebellious” however, it was during this time she had the revelation. Murray said "Like my mother, I was always saying, 'I'll fix my life one day.' It became clear when I saw her die without fulfilling her dreams that my time was now or maybe never.” This shows it was time to make right, it was time for Liz to take control of her life. It was that epiphany that was the catalyst to what would be a completed high school education, and a scholarship to an ivy league university to later inspire