How do we tell our stories when we don't have the words?

Navigating an eating disorder in her early teens in Hong Kong, Steph Ng knows all too well what it feels like to be voiceless in a cultural environment that frowns upon open discussions about mental illness.

In Big Bites Break Boundaries, Steph brings together pieces of personal and professional experiences to recount her journey of breaking free from deeply-entrenched cultural narratives - stories that have shaped her perceptions of what it means to be a "pretty (靚)", "good (乖)" and "accomplished (叻)" woman. A collection of sporadic story fragments, this book is a statement of resistance against cultural norms that often silence and dismiss stories that are 'unfinished' or 'unpolished'.

Big Bites Break Boundaries is not a story of triumph from challenge. Instead, it is a story that celebrates the inherent messiness of being human.

This book announces that to be wholly human is not to be embraced and beloved despite our mess. It is to be embraced and beloved for it.

Let your mess be your message.

Author's Bio

STEPH

Steph is a mental health advocate, entrepreneur, and researcher whose work aims to foster caring conversations on body image and mental health topics, particularly amongst young people in Hong Kong. She is the founder of Body Banter (www.bodybanter.com), a registered Section 88 charity in Hong Kong on a mission to empower young people to spark conversations about body image with curiosity and courage. In her role as a research fellow with local mental health charity Mind HK and as a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Hong Kong, she conducts research on how storytelling shapes perspectives towards mental illness and recovery in Hong Kong, and incorporates these insights into local evidence-based mental health initiatives.

Her influential voice in the field of mental health and body image advocacy has gained international recognition, and has been featured on prominent platforms such as BBC, TED, Channel NewsAsia, Tatler Asia, NowTV, and Deutsche-Welle. She is the winner of the Young Changemaker Award at the American Chambers of Commerce Women of Influence Awards 2023, and the recipient of the Youth Award at Jessica Magazine's Most Successful Women Awards 2023.

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• Instagram: @_themightymunchkin_
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