Brief Summary
Paulo Coelho is a worldwide phenomenon. At a time when he is coming up to the fantastic achievement of 100 million copies sold worldwide across all his books, his fans will be delighted with the first ever official biography of Paulo, an in-depth look at his life and work, and what makes him the much-loved author he is today. Paulo's first official biographer, Fernando Morais, provides an exhaustive look at Paulo's fascinating and varied life, taking several years to research his subject, and interviewing everyone who knows Paulo. He weaves together the strands of Paulo's life, revealing the man behind the world-famous writer. Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August 1947.
Before he became internationally known and a worldwide bestseller, he had to overcome many obstacles. As a teenager, he was subjected to the brutality of electric shock treatment in the psychiatric hospital where his parents, who took his rebelliousness as a sign of madness, interned him three times. As a member of the esoteric underworld, he was put in prison for alleged subversive activities against the Brazilian dictatorship and subjected to physical torture.
Later, Paulo joined forces with rock star Raul Seixas and together they composed songs that revolutionized Brazilian rock music. Hippie, journalist, rock star, actor, playwright, theatre director and producer of television programs, this whirlwind life came to an end in 1982, during a trip to Europe. In Dachau and later in Amsterdam, Paulo had a mystical meeting with "J", his new mentor, who persuaded him to walk the Road to Santiago de Compostela, a medieval pilgrim's route between France and Spain. In 1986 Paulo walked the Road to Santiago, and it was there that he reconverted to Christianity and found again the faith bequeathed to him by the Jesuit fathers of his school years. He would later describe this experience in his first book, The Pilgrimage. The following year, The Alchemist, established his worldwide reputation. The novel has already achieved the status of a universally admired modern classic. Now, for the first time, discover the true story of the man behind some of the world's most loved books."
ISBN:2147483647
Author:Fernando Morais
Jimmy Nzioki –
Alexiah Mami Mdindi’s book, A Journey To Behold, will definitely be worth your time and dime. The author transports you into her world from where she grew up in Kighalla village in Taita-Taveta County, Kenya.
The author reminisces her early childhood growing up in a traditional setting while accurately contrasting it with modern society. The book is a repository of the author’s own memories and her delivery is simple and engaging.
Jimmy Nzioki –
Ever read a simple but well-written memoir? If not, then Alexiah Mami Mdindi’s book, A Journey To Behold will definitely be worth your time and dime.
The author wastes no time in transporting you into her world from where she grew up in Kighalla village. A place that was redolent with nature’s finest: a beautiful and flourishing land. One would dare imagine it to be a land flowing with milk and honey as the author gives a very vivid description of the scenery of her motherland in Taita-Taveta County, Kenya.
The author reminisces her early childhood growing up in a traditional setting while accurately contrasting it with modern society. She relives what it was like growing up in the post-colonial world of Kenya in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. At times the author takes a break from her narration of events and muses over how things are not as they once were owing to various socio-economic factors of then and now. She then ropes in the reader back into the present.
Her story is aptly scattered in the book making the reader continue flipping the pages in order to find out what happened. It is non-linear. She honestly takes you through the motions of her joy and sorrows brought about by life’s inevitabilities of gains and losses. Her raw feelings of the loss of her mother are quite apparent as you read through. The three “marriages” of life as she calls them are: birth, marriage, and death. Stages that all of us will have to go through on this side of eternity. Her own near-death experience makes the reader realize the brevity of life and the faith that we need to possess in order to overcome certain trials in our lives.
The book is also a repository of the author’s own memories and her delivery is simple and engaging. Generally, it is a good read for anyone who would want to experience the old and new Kenya in a new way through the author’s point of view.
Jimmy Nzioki –
Ever read a simple but well-written memoir? If not, then Alexiah Mami Mdindi’s book, A Journey To Behold will definitely be worth your time and dime.
The author wastes no time in transporting you into her world from where she grew up in Kighalla village. A place that was redolent with nature’s finest: a beautiful and flourishing land. One would dare imagine it to be a land flowing with milk and honey as the author gives a very vivid description of the scenery of her motherland in Taita-Taveta County, Kenya.
The author reminisces her early childhood growing up in a traditional setting while accurately contrasting it with modern society. She relives what it was like growing up in the post-colonial world of Kenya in the 70’s, 80’s and the 90’s. At times the author takes a break from her narration of events and muses over how things are not as they once were owing to various socio-economic factors of then and now. She then ropes in the reader back into the present.
Her story is aptly scattered in the book making the reader continue flipping the pages in order to find out what happened. It is non-linear. She honestly takes you through the motions of her joy and sorrows brought about by life’s inevitabilities of gains and losses. Her raw feelings of the loss of her mother are quite apparent as you read through. The three “marriages” of life as she calls them are: birth, marriage, and death. Stages that all of us will have to go through on this side of eternity. Her own near-death experience makes the reader realize the brevity of life and the faith that we need to possess in order to overcome certain trials in our lives.
The book is also a repository of the author’s own memories and her delivery is simple and engaging. Generally, it is a good read for anyone who would want to experience the old and new Kenya in a new way through the author’s point of view.