The Alchemist
(Paulo Coelho)

Born in 1947, Brazilian author Paulo Coelho is one of the bestselling authors in the world. He has sold over 115 million copies of his books in more than 160 countries. Growing up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Coelho developed an interest in writing as a teenager. Coelho’s parents discouraged his dream of becoming a writer and wanted him to follow a more traditional path.

Coelho abandoned his dream of becoming a writer in order to follow his parent’s wishes and enroll in law school. However, he dropped out after and traveled extensively. The influence of Coelho’s life experience can be seen in Santiago’s journey to achieve his Personal Legend, or destiny, in The Alchemist. Coelho wrote The Alchemist in only two weeks in 1987, saying that the story was already written in his soul. The book, originally written in Portuguese, has been translated into more than 70 languages, making Coelho one of the most translated authors of all time.