The Reason I Jump

The Reason I Jump is a fascinating look inside the mind of a neurodivergent young man who shares his hopes, his dreams, and his unique perspective on the culture we all live in. I learned so much about Naoki’s unique point of view and grew to have great empathy for his inability to easily communicate his needs to others. This is a fully embodied look at our world from someone who sees from a different point of view, a non-verbal Japanese young man who has lived a rich and full life but doesn’t see the world the same as neurotypical… show more.

Naoki was thirteen when he wrote this short, beautiful, poetic account of his life as a non-verbal autistic person. (He has since written another, equally brilliant volume about being a young man – Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight.) What stays with me, from his writing, are his incredible powers of observation, his exquisite descriptions. I have never been nonverbal, but I experienced my childhood as if I was peering at an inexplicable “people-show” from behind an impenetrable pane of glass. These books are close to my heart, and really grew my empathy.