Paulo Coelho has had an extraordinary journey to literary fame. Born in 1947 in Brazil, Coelho’s young life was one of exploration and reinvention. He was a rebellious teenager, and his parents committed him to a psychiatric hospital three times. After his release, he obeyed their wishes and enrolled in law school. He eventually dropped out, and instead embraced a free-spirited lifestyle during the 1970s. He wrote protest lyrics for Brazilian musicians and was jailed for speaking out against his country’s military dictatorship. 

Coelho drifted between different careers in the music and entertainment industries until in 1986, at 39 years old, his life was changed. While traveling in Europe, he walked more than 500 miles along a historic Catholic pilgrimage route in northwestern Spain. The journey sparked a spiritual awakening and inspired his 1987 book The Pilgrimage. His next novel, The Alchemist, began as a modest success when it was released in 1988, but over time grew into a global phenomenon. Its allegorical tale of self-discovery and pursuing what Coelho calls one’s “personal legend” — one’s true passion and reason for being — resonated with readers worldwide, establishing Coelho as a master of spiritual and philosophical fiction.