Movie Review Example on Breaking Night by Liz Murray

Going through a journey with Elizabeth Murray in Breaking Night by Liz Murray to survive the hardship from being homeless to Harvard. Before Elizabeth Murry was born both of her parents were drug addicts but while being drug addicts it came with her looking after them as a child. With both of her parents being into drugs it came to where Liz had to miss school to be taking care of her parents and helping them get access to drugs. As she grew and went to start a new life, she was able to squeeze four years of high school into two whiles being homeless. The effects of drugs can have a negative impact on relationships between children, families, and themselves.

The relationships that children have will be difficult due to the drugs abuse especially between siblings. Feinberg stated that “Sibling conflict will lead to decreased parental stress and increased involvement as siblings begin to resolve their own conflicts and parents do not constantly feel the need to intervene in sibling disputes”.  By the parents being on drugs, they are influencing the children which will cause misunderstanding within each other. “It's not that we didn't love one another- we did. I just think we didn't know how to be with one another anymore. No one had prepared us for this, for what to do when tragedy breaks up your family. We had no idea what to do when disease took hold, mental illness struck, when Ma died”. (Murray 275) Liz and Lisa's relationship were good growing up as they were always looking out for their parents but as Liz started to live life her own way, she grew apart from Lisa and her parents and only talk with Lisa when something happened to Ma. Lisa wanted Liz to come back home but didn’t want to come back to a place that she can’t call home. From the parents being on drug it effected the relationship between Liz and Lisa as they grew up while the family was tearing apart.

Family members being under the influence of drugs can damage the relationship between each other. In “How do genes affect addiction?” it states that “The brain, which continues to develop until a person's early to mid-twenties, is much more vulnerable to addictive substances while it is developing. Studies have shown that addiction is much more likely in people who start using substances in their adolescence”. This happened to Liz, since Liz and her sister were young both of their parents were drug addicts and as they develop, they were used to being around dugs and helping them snuggle in some for their use. As Liz grew, she started hating her name “I almost said Elizabeth but thought again when the name echoed in my head from the mouths of angry social workers, angry group home girls, and worst of all, ma’s crazy voice, the voice from her breakdowns” (Murray 147). Being under her parents control came with being uncared for due to her mom having breakdowns, yelling out her full name also when she got taken away from her home and put in the system where she was mistreated and yelled at but manage to get through it by finding herself and her home.

Being around drug addicts can negatively affect the relationship they have within themselves. Wilson stated that “accessing a warm, secure and relaxed ‘home’-like environment was to seek one out elsewhere, in the homes of relatives, neighbors and friends” by having a place to call home even if it’s with someone you trust, people will always know that when things go downhill, they have a home to go back to. Liz had no place to call home but had a safe place, the public library on forty-second street. In Breaking Night, she states “Many nights, I longed for home. But it occurred to me as I struggled for a feeling of comfort and safety: I have no idea where home is” (Murray 225). Liz couldn’t experience the ideal of a home, while living with her parents and Lisa, she didn’t feel loved by them and cared for which cause her to run away with Sam her best friend to be with people who cared for her. For people, especially children being around adults that do drugs throughout their childhood can make the person feel unloved and not cared for and can cause problems within themselves.

Drug abuse can cause a significant impact in every one’s lives. The book, Breaking Night, goes into detail about the life of Liz Murray and her struggle with being homeless and her drug addicted parents. Drugs can impact every one’s life differently and some worst for others. The effects of drugs can have a negative impact on relationships between children, families, and themselves.