Breaking the Night Essay

A Story by mariagilmore

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Breaking Night.

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Name

Institution

Breaking Night

The Breaking Night is a story told by a drug addict’s daughter named Elizabeth, whose father got incarcerated before she was born. Although her mother got arrested as well, the judge set her free because she was already expecting Liz besides having an infant at home. The mother started rehabilitation programs after the release, but she relapsed to drugs when her husband came out of prison. When Elizabeth’s father came from jail, she felt that the distance between herself and her mother gradually widened (Masten, 2014). Also, Elizabeth’s mother abandoned the household chores and stopped being as active as she was before. The parents would take the drugs in the locked kitchen to hide from their children, who eventually found out. After witnessing her parents’ suffering, Liz became afraid of drugs and never thought of taking them. Breaking night symbolizes how she would sit up the whole night thinking about her wasted life and would only notice that she had not slept at the sounds of chirping birds and early movements.

How the Experiences Shaped Elizabeth’s Developmental Trajectory

Elizabeth’s parents were never there for her during childhood. Although her mother participated in the upbringing for a while, she abandoned her responsibilities when her father came from prison. The mother could not resist her husband’s offer to abuse drugs because she had already developed van addiction (Siegel, 2015). Although she used to enjoy it at first, she eventually got tired and wanted to leave their home and go to a better place. Due to the abandonment and the feeling of loneliness, Elizabeth took a life of wandering everywhere with friends who equally felt abandoned. Sometimes, they would skip school to ride on a crowded train and hang out at the bus terminals. Eventually, she adopted the life of homelessness and would spend her nights at her friend’s homes. Additionally, she did not mind keeping company with drug addicts because it had become routine for her.

The environment of substance abuse and abandonment made Elizabeth resentful towards helpful people and always misinterpreted their intentions. In her life, she had never experienced compassion, and so it was hard to give it to others. Moreover, the case worker who helped them with the school program was always strict, and whenever she visited, all she could do was force Elizabeth to resume classes or take her to a rehabilitation center (Siegel, 2015). It would sound like a threat rather than encouragement, and it made Elizabeth resent life even more.

Risk and Resilience

When faced with adversities, resilient children can re-organize their lives and move on. Elizabeth grew in an abusive family with addictive parents who never minded of what she did with her life. Also, the places and people she mingled with could influence her negatively. However, the girl had grown resilient with time and did not even have the urge to take drugs like all her peers (Masten & Narayan, 2012). Additionally, she never knew what the next day would bring because she had become a young homeless girl, but she managed to move on. Moreover, she struggled with her studies and graduated from sixth grade and joined junior high school despite all the challenges she faced. During the studies, Elizabeth’s friends would engage in risky activities like drugs.

Elizabeth faced risks like child prostitution and substance abuse among others. However, various people were always willing to help her get through her education. Social workers and counselors would visit her home to encourage her to take studies or take her into “placement” Although she could not notice at the time, these officials always wanted the best for her because they had seen her parents’ life waste away. Moreover, they wanted to secure her future and make her live a better independent life.

Adaptation

At the age of 13, the welfare workers took Elizabeth into custody. By that time, her mother and sister had moved out of the house because they wanted to start better drug-free lives. Also, Elizabeth had made disturbing discoveries about her father’s life, and although she did not want to move out, it would be better at the custodian's place (Dunsmore, Booker & Ollendick, 2013). In the beginning, Elizabeth felt stuck because she was not familiar with staying indoors and following a particular schedule all day long. Staying at the rescue center meant that she had to attend classes on a daily basis, and it made her uncomfortable.

Protective factors like the opportunity to resume studies and live a healthier life helped Elizabeth with her successful adaptation in the face of the surrounding risks. At the institution, she made friends whose experiences were similar or worse than hers (Sesma, Mannes & Scales, 2013). It enabled her to open up about her life and even invited her friend to her home which she considered embarrassing. Additionally, she had a healthier life at the rescue center because she could access regular meals and medical attention whenever the need arose.

References

Dunsmore, J. C., Booker, J. A., & Ollendick, T. H. (2013). Parental emotion coaching and child emotion regulation as protective factors for children with the oppositional defiant disorder. Social Development, 22(3), 444-466.

Masten, A. S. (2014). Global perspectives on resilience in children and youth. Child development, 85(1), 6-20.

Masten, A. S., & Narayan, A. J. (2012). Child development in the context of disaster, war, and terrorism: Pathways of risk and resilience. Psychology, 63.

Sesma Jr, A., Mannes, M., & Scales, P. C. (2013). Positive adaptation, resilience and the developmental assets framework. In Handbook of resilience in children (pp. 427-442). Springer US.

Siegel, D. J. (2015). The developing mind: How relationships and the brain interact to shape who we are. Guilford Publications.