Bend Not Broken , A Life In Two Worlds (2000) - Plot & Excerpts
After a horrific childhood in China filled with violence and suffering, Ping Fu arrives in the US with no money, knowing just three phrases of English. For her to have prospered would have been amazing. But, not only did she prosper, she was involved in helping to create some of the computer technology we use today and became CEO of her own, multi-million dollar company. This book tells her life story. The themes of love, forgiveness, joy, honor, hard work and sacrifice are woven throughout. I love the way she talks about the differences of her two sets of parents--one loving and nurturing, one...not--and how they both helped mold her into the adult she became. No blaming or whining. She shows how she used the hardships in her life, along with the kindness of others and the wise teachings of her early childhood, to become a stronger, more resilient person. Ping Fu grew up in China and was 8 years old when Mao’s Cultural Revolution had an immediate effect on her life. She was taken away from her loving home and was solely responsible for being a mother to her 4-year-old sister in a school dormitory where many others lived who needed to be “reeducated”. She came from the educated and business class of China so she was considered to have bad “black blood” as opposed to the working class/farmers who had good “red blood”. She was told she was nobody and her happy life immediately turned difficult.This is the story of how she survived in China’s harsh conditions during the Cultural Revolution and eventually came to the United States where she got a degree in Computer Science and became an entrepreneur, founding and developing Geomagic, Inc., a company that develops 3-D software. A harder working woman you will not find. Ping Yu was Inc. magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2005. She has a story worth telling and she tells it with a gentle, instructive spirit.However, there are a great many detractors who seem to have mounted an internet war to tear her story apart- most of these are Chinese now living in America who take exception to her depiction of the Cultural Revolution and interpret her stories as disrespecting China. It becomes very difficult to sort out all the disputed facts. But perhaps deviling with the details is not what is really important - regardless of the disputed particulars, I think we can all agree that none of us would have willingly wanted to live in China during Mao’s Cultural Revolution. What is important is Ping Yu’s story of how she surmounted all the many hurtles in her path and persevered through sheer strength of spirit and determination. My hat is off to her.
What do You think about Bend Not Broken , A Life In Two Worlds (2000)?
the story of her childhood i enjoyed but the story about setting up her bussiness i found boring
—skye
I love memoirs and would give another half star if I could. The author is one amazing woman!
—Earthtolydia
A moving tale of perseverance, and an encouragement to keep moving towards dreams.
—samz1
