Breaking Night by Liz Murray

As I read the beginning of the book, my first impression was the author is wack. There is no way anyone could remember day by day encounters as a 5 year old (conversations are in quotes). But then again, most kids don’t have drug junkies as parents, live in a beaten down apartment with a broken shower, have a father in jail, not go to school, a mother institutionalized, be molested, and eat toothpaste and chapstick for dinner. Then to top it all off, your mom is dying because she has AIDS. My attitude changed as I heard more stories of how dire Liz Murray's circumstances were.

This is a tragedy. It really is. You cannot help but feel sorry for Liz Murray. I knew she eventually made it to Harvard, but as I kept reading, I couldn’t see how she would get there. She hardly went to school, was running with a crowd who didn’t care about school, and eventually was homeless on the streets. The adjectives and descriptive style made the story all the more heartbreaking.

There was one point in the book that I thought she was exactly right. When a social worker told her to “get her life together”, she asks herself, “who could explain what they meant? What was she talking about? If an education and a job were so important, then why didn’t my parents have either? ‘Get your life together.’ What did that even look like? Was I supposed to make sense of that myself?”

A majority of the book focuses on her struggles growing up. It quickly covers when she finally made it to high school. She was 17 years old, entering high school with 1 credit (she needed 40 to graduate). How the heck did she get into Harvard – never mind how could she afford it. You’ll need to read the book to figure that out. Something made her wake up and realize she could change her life and give herself options. As for the part of how she could afford it, it almost seems too good to be true. The most opportune thing happened and she capitalized. I am little hesitant to admit this but it made my eyes water reading how it all went down. It is truly amazing and gratifying.

My rating for Breaking Night: 5 stars out of 5. Get it here!

P.S. I feel this is a great book for book clubs. There are many points where you can stop and reflect. I strongly recommend it.