"When I was 40, I wrote my first book, The Pilgrimage, and I said to myself, "why did it take so long for me to write this book?" Because my dream, since I was 10 years old, was to be a writer. I said, I have to revisit my life using a metaphor, and the metaphor was basically this boy that has a dream and has to go far away to realize that his dream is close to him."

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Source: Interview with Paulo Coelho: best selling author of The Alchemist. Interview with Amina Chaudary, theislamicmonthly.com. November 3, 2014.

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Paulo Coelho

Writer

Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian author best known for 'The Alchemist', which explores themes of destiny, love, and self-discovery.

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"I love you like a river that understands that it must learn to flow differently over waterfalls and to rest in the shallows. I love you because we are all born in the same place, at the same source, which keeps us provided with a constant supply of water. And so, when we feel weak, all we have to do is wait a little. The spring returns, and the winter snows melt and fill us with new energy."

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