Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight

Essential reading for parents and teachers who work with individuals with autism who remain non-verbal * Temple Grandin * There is much to be learned from it about this mysterious condition that Higashida regards as both a blessing and a curse. The book's single most important function is to drum into the sometimes thick heads of us neurotypical readers that people with autism experience a genuine and usually insuperable disconnection between what they want to say or do and what their brain allows them . . . Higashida's writing opens my mind to all sorts of possibilities for interpreting the behaviour of both my sons . . . a defining characteristic of autism is held to be lack of empathy, yet Higashida shows a delicate regard for the difficulties his condition creates and is adept at explaining his experiences in language that makes sense to neurotypicals . . . we should look with gratitude through the porthole he has cleared on to a submerged world. -- Charlotte Moore * Observer * Wise and witty, it offers a second insider's insight into the mysteries of non-verbal autism . . . The evolution of Higashida's insights is at times almost unbearably moving . . . Ultimately, though, his self-awareness is uplifting, reminding us to take joy in life's simple pleasures . . . sage and subtle . . . [a work] of illuminating beauty. -- Emma Claire Sweeney * Financial Times * Once again, the invitation to step inside Higashida's mind is irresistible . . . Higashida challenges the common belief that people with severe autism are exclusively literal-minded. Time and again he uses metaphor to help readers understand his world . . . if any author can help us get a grip, it's Higashida. -- William Moore * Evening Standard * Higashida's books belong in the small but intense canon of "locked-in" memoirs, such as Awakenings or The Diving Bell and the Butterfly . . . Higashida reveals himself to be far more conflicted than before. The titles show how much the years have changed him. The Reason I Jump had joy shimmering through it. Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight - the title is taken from a Japanese proverb - is about persistence. -- Helen Rumbelow * The Times * Readers are invited to observe the world from Higashida's perspective - and what a startling perspective that is . . . Higashida is wise beyond his years and constantly expressing his gratitude towards his family, above all his resilient mother. His pronouncements often ring with Yoda-like depth. He sounds like a village elder and it is impossible not to listen . . . challenges, even ones as seemingly insurmountable as those presented by severe disability, are negotiable. Hope - Higashida's favourite word - prevails. -- Leaf Arbuthnot * Sunday Times * The Reason I Jump was a game-changer, not only for those with a special interest in autism, but for anyone interested in the sheer diversity of human brains. In short essays using crystalline prose, Higashida made a gentle but devastating case that autism had been entirely misunderstood: it was not a cognitive disability at all, but a communicative and sensory one . . . This follow-up may not have the same surprise value, but it does something just as inspiring: it shows us how, with a little luck, plenty of support and a huge amount of determination, a "neuro-atypical" person can forge a happy and fulfilled path into adulthood . . . Higashida's observations across a whole range of topics are moving and thought-provoking - all the more so for coming from the perspective of a social outsider. -- Alice O'Keefe * Guardian * The book rightly challenges the methods and attitudes that prevail in supporting people with autism. It is rich in metaphor . . . Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight should be read by many beyond the circle of parents seeking to understand their child. It places Mr Higashida among the first rank of gifted writers, not just writers with autism. *

Naoki Higashida was born in Kimitsu, Japan in 1992. Diagnosed with non-verbal autism as a child, he learnt how to communicate using an alphabet grid and when he was thirteen wrote The Reason I Jump. Published in Japan in 2007, its English translation in 2013 was widely acclaimed and became a No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller as well as a New York Times bestseller. It has since been published in over thirty languages. The film based on the book, directed by Jerry Rothwell and produced by Jeremy Dear, Stevie Lee and Al Morrow, had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020, when it won the Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary. It went on to win awards at the Vancouver, Denver and Valladolid International Film Festivals before its international release in 2021. Higashida's sequel to the book, Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight, about living with autism from his perspective as a young adult, was published in Japan in 2015. An English-language edition, including new material and a short story Higashida wrote especially for it, was published in 2017 and was in turn a Sunday Times bestseller. He has also written children's books, poems and essays. David Mitchell's novels include Cloud Atlas, The Bone Clocks and, most recently, Utopia Avenue. KA Yoshida was born in Yamaguchi, Japan, and specialised in English Poetry at Notre Dame Seishin University.