# The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism - Hardcover

by **Naoki Higashida** (Author), **Ka Yoshida** (Translator), **David Mitchell** (Translator)

**"One of the most remarkable books I've ever read. It's truly moving, eye-opening, incredibly vivid."--Jon Stewart, _The Daily Show_**

**NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY**  
**NPR - _The Wall Street Journal - Bloomberg Business - Bookish_**

**FINALIST FOR THE BOOKS FOR A BETTER LIFE FIRST BOOK AWARD - _NEW YORK TIMES_ BESTSELLER**

You've never read a book like _The Reason I Jump_. Written by Naoki Higashida, a very smart, very self-aware, and very charming thirteen-year-old boy with autism, it is a one-of-a-kind memoir that demonstrates how an autistic mind thinks, feels, perceives, and responds in ways few of us can imagine. Parents and family members who never thought they could get inside the head of their autistic loved one at last have a way to break through to the curious, subtle, and complex life within.

Using an alphabet grid to painstakingly construct words, sentences, and thoughts that he is unable to speak out loud, Naoki answers even the most delicate questions that people want to know. Questions such as: "Why do people with autism talk so loudly and weirdly?" "Why do you line up your toy cars and blocks?" "Why don't you make eye contact when you're talking?" and "What's the reason you jump?" (Naoki's answer: "When I'm jumping, it's as if my feelings are going upward to the sky.") With disarming honesty and a generous heart, Naoki shares his unique point of view on not only autism but life itself. His insights--into the mystery of words, the wonders of laughter, and the elusiveness of memory--are so startling, so strange, and so powerful that you will never look at the world the same way again.

In his introduction, bestselling novelist David Mitchell writes that Naoki's words allowed him to feel, for the first time, as if his own autistic child was explaining what was happening in his mind. "It is no exaggeration to say that _The Reason I Jump_ allowed me to round a corner in our relationship." This translation was a labor of love by David and his wife, KA Yoshida, so they'd be able to share that feeling with friends, the wider autism community, and beyond. Naoki's book, in its beauty, truthfulness, and simplicity, is a gift to be shared.

**Praise for _The Reason I Jump_**

"This is an intimate book, one that brings readers right into an autistic mind."**\--_Chicago Tribune_ (Editor's Choice)**

"Amazing times a million."**\--Whoopi Goldberg, _People_**

"_The Reason I Jump_ is a Rosetta stone. . . . This book takes about ninety minutes to read, and it will stretch your vision of what it is to be human."**\--Andrew Solomon, _The Times_ (U.K.)**

"Extraordinary, moving, and jeweled with epiphanies."**_\--The Boston Globe_**

"Small but profound . . . Higashida's\] startling, moving insights offer a rare look inside the autistic mind."**\--_Parade_**

### Author Biography

**Naoki Higashida** was born in Kimitsu, Japan in 1992. Diagnosed with severe autism when he was five, he subsequently learned to communicate using a handmade alphabet grid and began to write poems and short stories. At the age of thirteen he wrote _The Reason I Jump,_ which was published in Japan in 2007. Its English translation came out in 2013, and it has now been published in more than thirty languages. Higashida has since published several books in Japan, including children's and picture books, poems, and essays. The subject of an award-winning Japanese television documentary in 2014, he continues to give presentations throughout the country about his experience of autism.  
  
**David Mitchell** is the author of seven novels, including _Cloud Atlas, The Bone Clocks,_ and, most recently, _Slade House_. **KA Yoshida** was born in Yamaguchi, Japan, and specialized in English poetry at Notre Dame Seishin University. KA Yoshida and David Mitchell live in Ireland with their two children.

**Number of Pages:** 176

**Dimensions:** 0.79 x 7.4 x 5.14 IN

**Illustrated:** Yes

**Publication Date:** August 27, 2013

**Award:** Books for a Better Life (2013)

**Award:** Books for a Better Life (2014)

**Accelerated Reader:**

**Quiz Name:** Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism

**Interest Level:** Upper Middle Grades, 6 and up

**Reading Level:** 5.8

**Point Value:** 3

## Details

- **Price:** 25.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 25.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism - Hardcover

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