The book tells stories from Fu's life, starting with her childhood in China at the dawn of the Cultural Revolution, and continuing through her role as co-founder and CEO of Geomagic, a 3D graphics software development company in the United States.

Once in America, Fu worked her way through college in a variety of jobs and eventually gained a BA in Computer Science & Economics through the University of California, San Diego.

Critical reception for Bend, Not Break was initially positive,[5][6] with The Christian Science Monitor calling it an "inspiring and energetic tale of how a scared little girl learned to draw down hard on her inner resources and build on every small kindness that came her way".

"[13] Bend, Not Break has received criticism over some of its content, with some detractors questioning the validity and truthfulness of some passages and making Fu the subject of a Human Flesh Search campaign.

[12] Author and scientist Fang Zhouzi voiced disbelief over a claim in the book that Fu had witnessed a teacher get "torn apart by four horses", saying that there was "no evidence to suggest that such a barbaric act ever took place" and considered it "an unlikely practice at that time in China’s history".