In her introduction, the author tells us that we live in a society in which the introvert is still seen as a minority. In the past, some studies claimed that only about a third of the population is made up of introverts. In the introduction, and also throughout the book, Laurie Helgoe names more recent studies that have all shown that about half of the population consists of introverts. She explains that it still is a common misconception that introverts are rare because we live in a society that places a high value on extroversion (unlike a country like Japan, for example).
Introverts often feel stressed because in the USA, it's all about thinking on your feet and making instant decisions, partially because modern technology makes it possible for people to be contactable 24/7. It is in the nature of introverts that they want to think things through, and make decisions they can feel comfortable with (and not regret later). Laurie Helgoe writes that introverts have great inner strengths, but often cannot use them in our society because there is so much pressure on everybody to act like an extrovert. She wants her book to be a tool for introverts to become more confident, and stop hiding their own personalities and strengths.
She also clarifies the terms of introversion and extroversion
