Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard

Pearls are a symbol of galvanization against pain or danger. Liz writes to her late mother about how oysters create pearls in order to protect themselves from dangerous or unwanted bodies. For Liz and Jeanie, the pearls were those loving moments between them that galvanized them against the dangers of their lifestyles. For Jeanie and Peter, the pearls were the highs they chased with every drug binge, to strengthen them against their painful pasts.

The Narcotics Anonymous coin represents time sober for Jeanie. For Liz, who keeps it after Jeanie moves out to live with Brick, it represents the goodness she saw in her mother, including her mother’s loving intentions and constant desire to stop using drugs.

Liz only has one remaining photograph of her mother, and from a time when she was healthy. This serves as a contrast to how Jeanie looks after HIV and AIDS ravage her body, and after drug abuse takes its toll. The photograph represents a piece of Liz’s mother from before she was born, and therefore serves to identify the younger Jeanie.