PAULO COELHO: A WARRIOR’S LIFE The Authorized Biography By Fernando Morais

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PAULO COELHO: A WARRIOR'S LIFE The Authorized Biography by Fernando Morais

Depicting a man of extremes—one beloved by millions of loyal fans yet widely condemned by literary critics—this extensive biography reveals how Coelho strives, thrives, and inspires others to do the same.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) November 12, 2009

For three years, groundbreaking journalist Fernando Morais researched every aspect of bestselling author Paulo Coelho’s life, living in his community and interviewing family, friends, and foes. But it was ultimately a bet with Coelho himself that allowed Morais complete access to the contents of a box “to be burned upon death”—a box containing his journals dating back to 1959, when he was twelve years old.

Through these journals, Morais’ extensive research, and with Coelho’s own blessing, Paulo Coelho: A Warrior’s Life (HarperOne; November 2009; Hardcover; $26.99; ISBN 978-0-06-171888-5) emerges as the most comprehensive examination of one of the world’s most famous living writers.    

“Who shall I be in your biography?” Coelho writes on his sixtieth birthday to Morais—a missive that is included at the end of the biography. Coelho knew the risk of having the more controversial aspects of his life exposed, but he also welcomed the opportunity to reveal himself in a new way—in truth, with the possibility of gaining even more freedom in pursuing his “personal legend,” much like his beloved character Santiago in The Alchemist.

From his miraculous birth to his struggles in school; from his time spent in an asylum to his early days as a playwright and actor; Paulo Coelho: A Warrior’s Life tells the story of an ambitious young man chasing his three obsessions—faith, sex, and success as a famous writer. Taking readers through successes and failures alike, Morais reveals:

•     Paulo Coelho was born in a coma, and doctors initially believed he was a stillborn.
•     In the third grade, Coelho won his first writing contest—though he was too shy to even vote for himself.
•     In the 1970s Coelho joined a Masonic organization whose leader was exiled from Italy by Benito Mussolini.
•     During a trip to Paraguay with his friends, Coelho was mistaken for a terrorist, imprisoned, and nearly lost among “the disappeared.”
•     Coelho briefly embraced Satanism before finding his way back to Christianity
•     The Pilgrimage and The Alchemist were inspired by Coelho’s own spiritual quests.

Chronicling an extraordinary life, Paulo Coelho: A Warrior’s Life shows how Coelho came to write The Alchemist and became a literary sensation throughout the world. Depicting a man of extremes—one beloved by millions of loyal fans yet widely condemned by literary critics—this extensive biography reveals how Coelho strives, thrives, and inspires others to do the same.

Fernando Morais is one of the most important and preeminent journalists in South America and is widely credited with making the biography a popular genre in Brazil. He is also a well-known politician and activist whose articles have stirred much debate in both his native country and throughout South America. He lives in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Paulo Coelho is an international bestselling author whose books—The Alchemist, The Pilgrimage, The Valkyries, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, The Fifth Mountain, and The Witch of Portobello—have sold more than 100 million copies in 140 countries and have been translated into 55 languages. He lives in Brazil.

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