Liz Murray's story is sure to move your heart about overcoming adversity in life. Formerly homeless, Liz transformed her life of despair into an inspiring journey of determination, hope, and hard-won success.
The subject of Lifetime Television's Emmy-nominated original film, Homeless to Harvard, Murray graduated from Harvard in 2009, and went on to receive her Masters in the Psychology of Education at Columbia University. Today, as co-founder and Executive Director of The Arthur Project, Murray is a passionate advocate for under-served youth, working to end generational poverty through relationship-based learning.
Learn how you can help people heal from addiction in our Kansas City community with the organization In the Name of GRACE.
Join Dr. Michelle and Liz as they talk about:
- The mentors, teacher, and non-profit that supported her and helped her see that there was another way to live.
- Her backstory growing up in the Bronx with drug addicted parents.
- Why addiction can be a family illness that impacts the entire household.
- The dreams her mother had while she was growing up that she shared with Liz.
- Unpacking the good and the bad that can happen side by side and the gray area that existed in her family's situation.
- How it was difficult for her to decide how to approach and communicate her thoughts and feelings about her parents' drug addiction with them.
- About her book, Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard, and what lessons she has learned from her past to help her navigate COVID-19.
- The power of kinship and embodying community and our relationships with others.
Learn more about Liz's background and life experience as she shares:
- How she has raised her biracial children and helped them navigate the world.
- The work that she is doing to help make the world a better place for all people.
- Her visit to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee with her family.
- About the current book she is working on writing, The Weight of Two Worlds.
- Her words of advice for parents when their children come to them and ask them to help make sense of the world.
- What lessons her children have taught her about human rights and celebrating freedom in the USA.
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