郑念对文革的个人叙述《上海生与死》出版于1987年。出版后即成为英语世界畅销书。好评如潮，该书被译为多种文字在各国出版。连后来的诺贝尔奖获得者约翰·库切都忍不住在《纽约时报》上写书评，推荐这本书。
本书郑念记述了从文化大革命开始到八十年代初出国这段时间的个人经历。对文革的记录尤如史实，读起来好像在读一部文化革命史。郑念在记录史实的时候，既详细地记录了这些政治事件，也仔细地记录了这些事件怎样影响到她个人，并力图分析这种个人和政治事件之间的关系。这使这本书有种个人编年史的性质。这本书也以编年的方式写下来的，从文革开始，到抄家，到软禁，到被捕入狱，上海的一月革命和军管，党内斗争和她在监狱中的经历，直到释放回家，尼克松访华和她最终获得离开许可，发展的顺序与时间顺序同步，对那些对文革所知不多的人来说，这本书可以是一本文革史，特别是上海文革史，虽然是通过个人经历来展现的。由于本书具有比较广阔的视野，对文革中的种种政治风波、事件都有记载和分析，这本书也反应了一个中国自由知识分子对红色中国的个人思考。个人性与历史性的结合，使本书独树一帜，其独特的角度弥足珍贵。

In August 1966 a group of Red Guards ransacked the home of Nien Cheng. Her background made her an obvious target for the fanatics of the Cultural Revolution: educated in London, the widow of an official of Chiang Kai-Shek's regime, and an employee of Shell Oil, Nien Cheng enjoyed comforts that few of her compatriots could afford. When she refused to confess that any of this made her an enemy of the state, she was placed in solitary confinement, where she would remain for more than six years. "Life and Death in Shanghai" is the powerful story of Nien Cheng's imprisonment, of the deprivation she endured, of her heroic resistance, and of her quest for justice when she was released. It is the story, too, of a country torn apart by the savage fight for power Mao Tse-tung launched in his campaign to topple party moderates. An incisive, rare personal account of a terrifying chapter in twentieth-century history, "Life and Death in Shanghai" is also an astounding portrait of one woman's courage.

The national bestselling memoir of a woman’s resistance and struggles in Communist China—“an absorbing story of resourcefulness and courage” (The New York Times).
 
A NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
 
In August 1966, a group of Red Guards ransacked the home of Nien Cheng. Her background made her an obvious target for the fanatics of the Cultural Revolution: educated in London, the widow of an official of Chiang Kai-shek’s regime, and an employee of Shell Oil. When she refused to confess that any of this made her an enemy of the state, she was placed in solitary confinement, where she would remain for more than six years.
 
Life and Death in Shanghai recounts the story of Nien Cheng’s imprisonment—a time of extreme deprivation which she met with heroic resistance—as well as her quest for justice when she was released. It is also the story of a country torn apart by Mao Zedong’s vicious campaign to topple party moderates. An incisive, personal account of a terrifying chapter in twentieth-century history, Life and Death in Shanghai is also an astounding portrait of one woman’s courage.