I hope that by reading my explanations about autism and its mysteries, you can come to understand that all the obstacles that present themselves don’t come from our selfishness or from ego. If all of you can grasp this truth about us, we are handed a ray of hope. However hard an autistic life is, however sad it can be, so long as there’s hope we can stick at it.
And when the light of hope shines on all this world, then our future will be connected with your future. That’s what I want, above all.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Introduction
Preface
The Mystery of the Missing Words
Slip Sliding Away
Earthling and Autisman
Never-ending Summer
A Story I Heard Somewhere
The Great Statue of Buddha
The Black Crow and the White Dove
Foreword
I’m Right Here
Afterword
A Note from the Illustrators
About the Author
About the Translators
About the Illustrators
A Note from the Illustrators
The Reason I Jumpconnected with us on a number of levels, but most overwhelmingly Naoki’s relationship with nature was the link for the imagery. Naoki returns to nature again and again in the book. He can see beauty and meaning within nature and abstract this information and relate it back to himself, and always turns to nature for comfort and refers to it as his friend. We use nature in our work to connect with people, to provoke thoughts and memories. We like the idea of showing something you can’t actually see—and asking bigger questions. We use nature-based images as a metaphor for other feelings. For us, this was how we could combine our imagery with Naoki and his powerful story.
The book was extremely moving for us and we found the way Naoki sees the world, despite his difficulties, inspiring.
Kai and Sunny
About the Author
NAOKI HIGASHIDA was born in 1992 and was diagnosed with autism at the age of five. He graduated from high school in 2011 and lives in Kimitsu, Japan. He is an advocate, a motivational speaker, and the author of several books of fiction and nonfiction.
About the Translators
KA YOSHIDA was born in Yamaguchi, Japan, and majored in English poetry at Notre Dame Seishin University.
DAVID MITCHELL is the author of the international bestsellers The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, Black Swan Green, Cloud Atlas, Number9Dream, and Ghostwritten.
KA Yoshida and David Mitchell live in Ireland with their two children.
About the Illustrators
KAI AND SUNNY are a multidisciplinary duo whose work appears in many arenas of art. Their intricate, natural and sometimes sinister style has led them to collaborate with Alexander McQueen and to design the jackets of several of David Mitchell’s books, and has won them numerous accolades, including a 2012 D&AD design award. The artists have exhibited internationally, including at Haunch of Venison London, and have recently been included in the Victoria and Albert Museum print archive collection. The duo are currently exploring natural forms in large-scale monotone prints.