Big Bites Break Boundaries

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.

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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_
Website: www.themightymunchkin.weebly.com

DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS & GRATITUDE
PREFACE
PART ONE: “PRETTY GIRL” 靚女
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
A STORY OF SMALLNESS
THE FROG IN THE WELL井底之蛙
“AM I HUNGRY?”
BREAKING MIRRORS
SILENCE
DEATH DAY
MOURNING THE WICKED
THE ONION
THERE ARE ALWAYS MORE SOLUTIONS THAN PROBLEMS辦法總比問題多
FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS
THE HOUSE THAT I BURNED DOWN IT TAKES A VILLAGE
OMELETS SHAPED LIKE PIGS LIKE THE SEASONS
TASTING FRUIT ESTABLISHING ENOUGH-NESS DEAR ICE CREAM
SPACES AND STORYLINES
CALLUSES

PART TWO: “GOOD GIRL” 乖女
PART TWO: INTRODUCTION
TELEPHONE
RICE BOWLS AND PIMPLES
WHEN SEEING IS NOT BELIEVING
BIG RED FLAG
WHAT AM I HUNGRY FOR?
YOU DID NOT HAVE AN AFFAIR WITH A BURGER
SOUP
CHAI

PART THREE: “ACCOMPLISHED GIRL” 叻女
PART THREE: INTRODUCTION
THE PERPETUALLY THIN BODY 吃極都唔肥
BECOMING ‘NORMAL’
ORANGES
TIGHTROPE
TO BE A HERO
LEARNING TO LEAN
UMBRELLAS
BEHIND THE CAMERA SALTED FISH 鹹魚
CLOUDS
VELVETEEN

REFERENCES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR