ALA Alex Award winner evaluation: "Breaking Night" a memoir

By the time Liz Murray was fifteen she was homeless. She was born to drug addicted parents, and her days leading up to her mother’s death and after are filled with highs and lows. But she’s not bitter at either of her parents or what life had put her through. In her book, Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard, she takes us through her life, humbled.

Murray’s memoir, a 2011 Alex Award winner by the Young Adult Library Services Association, was chosen for many reasons. It’s full of lessons to be learned, spoken from a person who’s actually walked the walk and talked the talk. She does not preach, but shows honesty and humility in her writing.

Young adults come from various backgrounds and living situations. This can offer this age group an outlook at how some kids their age struggle more than they may have to — to open their eyes to a different type of life. This is also a great read for a young adult who is struggling themselves to fit in or who feels they are different, possibly even being part of similar situations as the author.

This book deals with parental issues, drug addiction, being poor, not having enough food, having to essentially take care yourself, accepting help, and surviving — many struggles some young adults may face in one way or another.

But overall, Murray is inspiring. To go from what little she had, and from being homeless, to attending and graduating from Harvard University is a true testament to the will to succeed and attempt to survive your past. It can give young adults hope to make a change in their lives, inspire them to dream bigger, or to lend a helping hand to a fellow teen in need.

Not everyone’s life is perfect. And Murray shows that. She also shows that not having “perfect” doesn’t mean you can’t dream big, have goals, and create your own perfect.

This book doesn’t necessarily follow any specific trend besides the normal survival, awe-inspiring, true-life story of a person — male or female — who has overcome a life obstacle. In many ways these can be some of the best types of books for young adults to read, though a lot of times the real-life situations portrayed are far-reaching from their own life. It can also create discussion about homelessness in America, volunteer opportunities at food pantries, and a way for a young adult in need to reach out for help.