The Reason I Jump The Inner Voice of a Thirteen

“OneofthemostremarkablebooksI’veeverread.It’strulymoving，eye-opening，incrediblyvivid.”—JonStewart，TheDailyShowNAMEDONEOFTHEBESTBOOKSOFTHEYEARBYNPR•TheWallStreetJournal•BloombergBusiness•BookishFINALISTFORTHEBOOKSFORABETTERLIFEFIRSTBOOKAWARD•NEWYORKTIMESBESTSELLERYou’veneverreadabooklikeTheReasonIJump.WrittenbyNaokiHigashida，averysmart，veryself-aware，andverycharmingthirteen-year-oldboywithautism，itisaone-of-a-kindmemoirthatdemonstrateshowanautisticmindthinks，feels，perceives，andrespondsinwaysfewofuscanimagine.Parentsandfamilymemberswhoneverthoughttheycouldgetinsidetheheadoftheirautisticlovedoneatlasthaveawaytobreakthroughtothecurious，subtle，andcomplexlifewithin.Usinganalphabetgridtopainstakinglyconstructwords，sentences，andthoughtsthatheisunabletospeakoutloud，Naokianswerseventhemostdelicatequestionsthatpeoplewanttoknow.Questionssuchas：“Whydopeoplewithautismtalksoloudlyandweirdly?”“Whydoyoulineupyourtoycarsandblocks?”“Whydon’tyoumakeeyecontactwhenyou’retalking?”and“What’sthereasonyoujump?”(Naoki’sanswer：“WhenI’mjumping，it’sasifmyfeelingsaregoingupwardtothesky.”)Withdisarminghonestyandagenerousheart，Naokishareshisuniquepointofviewonnotonlyautismbutlifeitself.Hisinsights—intothemysteryofwords，thewondersoflaughter，andtheelusivenessofmemory—aresostartling，sostrange，andsopowerfulthatyouwillneverlookattheworldthesamewayagain.Inhisintroduction，bestsellingnovelistDavidMitchellwritesthatNaoki’swordsallowedhimtofeel，forthefirsttime，asifhisownautisticchildwasexplainingwhatwashappeninginhismind.“ItisnoexaggerationtosaythatTheReasonIJumpallowedmetoroundacornerinourrelationship.”ThistranslationwasalaboroflovebyDavidandhiswife，KAYoshida，sothey’dbeabletosharethatfeelingwithfriends，thewiderautismcommunity，andbeyond.Naoki’sbook，initsbeauty，truthfulness，andsimplicity，isagifttobeshared.PraiseforTheReasonIJump“Thisisanintimatebook，onethatbringsreadersrightintoanautisticmind.”—ChicagoTribune(Editor’sChoice)“Amazingtimesamillion.”—WhoopiGoldberg，People“TheReasonIJumpisaRosettastone....Thisbooktakesaboutninetyminutestoread，anditwillstretchyourvisionofwhatitistobehuman.”—AndrewSolomon，TheTimes(U.K.)“Extraordinary，moving，andjeweledwithepiphanies.”—TheBostonGlobe“Smallbutprofound...[Higashida’s]startling，movinginsightsofferararelookinsidetheautisticmind.”—ParadeFromtheHardcoveredition.