Liz Murray
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Elizabeth Murray (born September 23, 1980) is an American
memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...
ist and inspirational speaker who is notable for having been accepted by
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
despite being
homeless Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...
in her high school years. Her life story was chronicled in Lifetime's
television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
'' Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story'' (2003). Murray's
memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...
''Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard,'' published in 2010 is a ''New York Times'' Bestseller.


Early life and education

Murray was born on September 23, 1980, in
the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
to poor and drug-addicted parents, both of whom would later contract
HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...
. She was surrounded by drug use from an early age and lived in an unclean environment. She was often hungry and ate ice cubes because it felt like eating. When she was about 9 years old, Murray began working jobs at gas stations and supermarkets to earn money for groceries. Her parents split up in 1994 when she was 14, Her mother and sister moved in with her grandfather. Murray lived with her father until their neighbor called the
social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...
, who took her in custody for her own protection for 35 days. During this time her father got evicted from their apartment. Murray, her mother and sister Lisa lived with her mother's father (Liz's and Lisa's grandfather) for a few years, but at the age of 13 Murray was put in a
group home A group home, congregate living facility, care home (the latter especially in British English and Australian English), adult family home, etc., is a structured and supervised residence model that provides assisted living as well as medical car ...
for a while. She became homeless just after she turned 15, when her mother died of
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
in 1996 and her father moved to a homeless shelter. She wanted to turn her life around and finish her education. She found a job door-to-door soliciting donations in support of environmental political initiatives. Murray knew her survival depended on the job, so she ended up breaking all the sales records of the company, and made more than $8000 in two months. Despite her late high school start and lack of a stable home, Murray began attending the Humanities Preparatory Academy in
Chelsea, Manhattan Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side (Manhattan), West Side of the Boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. The area's boundaries are roughly 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the south, the Hudson River an ...
, graduating in two years. Murray earned a 95 average and graduated at the top of a class of 158. She was awarded a scholarship by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' for needy students and was accepted into Harvard University, matriculating in the fall semester of 2000. A story profiling the scholarship winners was published on the cover of ''The New York Times''' metro section in March 1999. Readers of the story brought Murray clothing and food, and offered to do her laundry. She transferred from Harvard to
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
in 2003 to care for her ailing father. She earned a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
in psychology in June 2009. As of August 2009, she began taking graduate courses at
Harvard Summer School Harvard Summer School, founded in 1871, is a summer school run by Harvard University. It serves more than 5,000 students per year. History Harvard Summer School was founded in 1871. It is the first academic summer session established and the o ...
with plans to earn a doctorate in clinical psychology and become a counselor. Her older sister Lisa graduated from Purchase College in New York and is a school teacher for children with autism.


Career

Murray is the co-founder of a youth mentoring organization called "The Arthur Project," which was named in honor of her first mentor. She also works as an inspirational speaker with the
Washington Speakers Bureau Washington Speakers Bureau (WSB) is a privately held speakers agency founded in 1980 and headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The company was founded in 1980 by Bernie Swain, Paula Swain, and Harry Rhoads, Jr. In 2000, the com ...
since 1999. Murray has been a speaker at events alongside
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
,
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
and
Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣 识一切 瓦齐尔达喇 达赖 喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...
. Murray made a speech at the annual conference of the Washington State Coalition for the Homeless at the Yakima Convention Center in 2007. In March 2009, she told her story to 1,400 students at Worcester Technical High School in
Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...
. In September 2012, she gave a
TED Talk TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...
called "For the Love of Possibility" at TedxYouth @San Diego. Murray served as a co-producer in Lifetime's
television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
'' Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story'' (2003) starring actress Thora Birch. The film chronicled Murray's life story and it received three
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
nominations, including one for Outstanding Television Movie and one for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. Murray made a brief
cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...
in the film as a social worker. Murray's story has also been featured on ABC's '' 20/20'' and she has appeared as a guest on '' The Ricki Lake Show'' and ''
The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...
''. During her appearance on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', Murray reflected on what she learned from her parents: "They taught me that resilience is actually flexibility, it taught me that gratitude is knowing everything you have, you could just as easily not have it, and it taught me that the basis of forgiveness is often knowing that things aren’t personal and we all have limitations and people can’t give you what they don’t have." Murray's
memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...
''Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard'' was published by
Hachette Books Hachette Books, formerly Hyperion Books, is a general-interest book imprint of the Perseus Books Group, which is a division of Hachette (publisher), Hachette Book Group and ultimately a part of Lagardère Group. Established in 1990, Hachette pu ...
in 2010. The book landed on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller List within a week of its release and became an international bestseller published in twelve countries, in eight languages. The book received favorable reviews from critics, with '' Kirkus Review'' calling it an "admirable story of a teen who overcame homelessness through sheer grit and the kindness of friends." Murray has received numerous accolades and awards, including the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
Project's Role Model Award,
Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...
’s first-ever Chutzpah Award in 2004 and
Alex Award The Alex Awards annually recognize "ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults ages 12 through 18". Since 2002, the Alex Awards have been administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of th ...
in 2011. Winfrey's Chutzpah Award is given to women, who show boldness and courage, go against the odds and have achieved greatness. In 2008, she received Appalachian Women’s Fund's Women of Vision Award. On May 19, 2013, she was awarded an honorary doctorate of public service and gave the commencement address at
Merrimack College Merrimack College is a Private university, private Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian university in North Andover, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1947 by the Order of St. Augustine with an initial goal to educate World War II veterans. It en ...
in
North Andover, Massachusetts North Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 30,915. History Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European colonizati ...
.


Awards and nominations


Bibliography


Books

*


Authored articles

*


See also

* '' Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story'' (2003), Lifetime television film


References


External links

*
''Perseverance''
a short film produced by Anson Schloat and John G. Young, 2006.
Official Facebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Liz 1980 births Living people American homeless people Street children People from the Bronx American motivational speakers American women motivational speakers Harvard University alumni Harvard Summer School alumni Memoirists from New York (state)