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Amanda Sung

Amanda Sung is the author of “How to Break a Girl” and a brand strategist with over 15 years of experience in marketing and branding. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication from Simon Fraser University and a Master’s degree in Journalism from the University of British Columbia. In addition, she has hosted segments for Novus TV and modeled for the Regent Hotel. Connect with Amanda here…

Author of “How to Break a Girl”, Amanda Sung

December 15, 2025
Contributed By: Amanda Sung

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My debut novel, “How to Break a Girl”, grew out of my own experience as a Taiwanese-Canadian “satellite child” raising myself and my younger sister in Vancouver without our parents. Reimagined from my master’s thesis at the University of British Columbia, the book follows three Asian Canadian immigrant women whose lives fracture and rebuild through love, career, and family. Their stories confront themes such as intergenerational divides, the silence around mental health in Asian cultures, the “astronaut parent” phenomenon, and the precarious realities of immigration. At its heart, though, it’s a celebration of deeply flawed, yet incredibly strong heroines, and their unbreakable friendship, where resilience, humour, and identity take centre stage.

When was your lightbulb moment?

My lightbulb moment came during my master’s program in journalism at UBC. My program director encouraged me to channel my own experience as a “satellite child” into a memoir for my thesis. At first, I resisted I was only in my early twenties and wondered what I really had to say. But as I began writing about raising myself and my sister in Vancouver without our parents, I realized that my story wasn’t just mine alone. It echoed the struggles of so many immigrant women and families. That realization lit a fire in me: storytelling could be more than personal expression, it could be a path to collective healing. That’s when I knew “How to Break a Girl” had to exist in the format of literary women’s fiction, with a historical flair, to reach a much broader audience.

What are your three words of advice?

1) Resilience: Forged from growing up alone and raising my sister, it taught me that resilience is the practical strength of rebuilding with whatever is at hand. We don’t get to choose our circumstances, but we do choose our tenacity to move forward.
2) Community: Life gifted me with incredible friends who became my chosen family. Community is that support network we deliberately cultivate; it’s the net that holds us when our own strength falters.
3) Sass: It’s about doing things with style, wit, and a pinch of rebellion. It’s the fusion of lived experience and knowledge, allowing us to reclaim our space and narrative with confidence and authenticity.