The thirteen-year-old author of this book invites you, his reader, to imagine a daily life in which your faculty of speech is taken away. Explaining that you're hungry, or tired, or in pain, is now as beyond your powers as a chat with a friend.
-- David Mitchell (Introduction)

Importance: The book's opening sentence gives an overview of the nature of the author's autism and the extreme difficulties he faces in everyday life.

I have no problem reading books aloud and singing, but as soon as I try to speak with someone, my words just vanish. Sure, sometimes I manage a few words -- but even these can come out the complete opposite of what I want to say!
-- Naoki Higashida (Preface paragraph 1, Page 3)

Importance: Here the author offers his initial succinct explanation of the specific difficulties he finds in conversing with others, including the mystery of being able to read or sing aloud even though he cannot find the words...