Books like Bend, not break by Ping Fu

The Power of Habit shows how tiny habits shape our lives and how they can be transformed to achieve personal and organizational success.

Jeannette Walls' memoir chronicles her turbulent childhood in a dysfunctional, itinerant family, detailing poverty, alcoholism, and homelessness across the United States as she seeks stability and personal growth.

Neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi’s poignant memoir chronicles his battle with stage IV metastatic lung cancer and his reflections on life, medicine, and mortality.

A memoir of a woman who overcomes a strict survivalist Mormon upbringing in rural Idaho to pursue higher education, ultimately earning a PhD in history at Cambridge.

The Woman Warrior is Maxine Hong Kingston’s lyrical memoir of her Chinese‑American upbringing in California, juxtaposing her mother’s folk tales of fierce women with the everyday sexism she faces.

Michelle Obama chronicles her life from South Side Chicago to the White House, revealing the personal drive behind her public advocacy for women, families, and health.

Nien Cheng, a Shanghai expatriate educated in London and former Shell employee, endures six years of solitary confinement during the Cultural Revolution, documenting her heroic resistance and quest for justice after release.

Red Azalea follows Anchee Min, a Shanghai-born girl who, as a member of the Little Red Guards, faces the traumas of Mao’s Cultural Revolution and the personal costs of political upheaval.

Bendy and the Ink Machine[b] is an episodic first-person survival horror video game developed and published by Kindly Beast[a] under the name of the game's in-universe animation studio Joey Drew Studios Inc.[1][2] It was initially released to Game Jolt on February 10, 2017, as the first of five chapters, with a full worldwide release on October 27, 2018. The game was also released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on November 20, 2018, being published by Rooster Teeth Games, and for IOS and Android on December 21, 2018. Inspired by the BioShock game series, the game is set in the fictional Joey Drew Studios. The player controls Henry Stein, a retired animator who receives a letter inviting him back to his old workplace. Stein discovers a series of strange paranormal activities caused by the titular Ink Machine. In the game, players navigate through a first person perspective and need to complete certain tasks to proceed, such as combat, collecting objects or solving puzzles. Players can also find audio logs recorded by the studio's employees in order to understand the game's history. Bendy and the Ink Machine was well-received upon its initial release. Praise centered on its vintage aesthetic and story, although its puzzles and combat mechanics were less popular. In the months following its release, the game quickly gained a large following from exposure on platforms like YouTube and Twitch, and eventually was approved through Steam Greenlight in mid-2017. Merchandise, as well as a mobile spin-off, was later introduced to further promote the game. Mike Mood, the game's programmer and co-creator, described the game as an "accidental success".[3] Bendy and the Dark Revival, the next game in the series, was released on November 15, 2022.[4] Gameplay Bendy and the Ink Machine is a first person survival that resembles several cartoons in the 1920s to 1940s. The player plays as Henry Stein, a retired animator who returns to his old workplace, Joey Drew Studios, and discovers that a machine has destroyed the entire studio and brought certain cartoon characters to life. The game mixes combat with puzzle mechanics.[5] Players explore through a first-person view and have limited physical actions such as running and jumping.[6] Different items can be collected, some of which are required to perform various tasks before proceeding.[7] Cans of bacon soup can also be collected for achievements and to restore Henry's health if he is injured.[8] Combat is primarily focused around a variety of different melee-based weapons, such as an axe, pipe, plunger, wrench, or scythe.[9] Additionally there are long-range weapons such as a tommy gun or bacon soup cans. In-game enemies have different strength levels and resilience to damage, forcing players to be tactical about keeping out of reach and striking when necessary.[10] Failure to do so will result in a death.[9] Henry can retreat inside Little Miracle Stations whenever enemies are nearby in order to recover or remain out of sight. If he takes too much damage, he can escape from the ink that consumes him and respawn at one of the numerous statues of Bendy that act as checkpoints.[11][12] The player can save their progress by interacting with time card stations.[12] In addition, players can find numerous audio logs throughout the studio that give more details about the game's story, particularly concerning the fate of the studio and its employees, similar to the systems used in games such as BioShock.[13][14] Some of these logs can be missed and require further exploration to uncover the secret areas they often reside In. At the final chapter, players unlock the Seeing Tool, which is a device used to view secret hidden messages that would be invisible without it. After completing it, players can also use it in the previous four chapters.[15]

An inspiring true story of a WWII pilot’s survival, resilience, and redemption, examined through detailed battlefield context and human courage.

A fourteen‑year‑old single mother, China Cup Cameron, battles poverty and debt to honor her daughter's death with a proper funeral, relying on a paralyzed uncle for support.

Turner, Ted. Call Me Ted: A Personal History.

Adeline Yen Mah recounts her turbulent childhood in a wealthy Tianjin family, the loss of her mother, and abuse by a stepmother, before escaping to Hong Kong and school under the looming Red Army.

Rae Yang’s memoir chronicles her life from privileged beginnings to becoming a Red Guard and later a pig farmer, depicting her personal struggles during the Cultural Revolution with sharp honesty and humor.