Accompanying a Writer in His Golden Age…

I first met him at university with The Alchemist. Writers are like people passing through our lives, and that’s why we remember the day we first encountered them. Just like the people who enter our lives, they too cross our paths for a reason. I believe that 65 million readers must have felt the same way after meeting The Alchemist.

Perhaps this book, waiting for years on the shelf in the living room, caught my eye when I decided to change and search for a new version of myself. Although Coelho does not see himself directly as a spiritual guide, his books are a tool for spiritual growth for his readers.

In this piece, I will talk about the journey I embarked on with Coelho’s books, and for this reason, I will only write about the ones I have read. Otherwise, I am sure you can easily find encyclopedic information about the author thanks to the internet.

Even though I haven’t read them all yet, I am certain I will encounter them at the right time…

The Alchemist is a completely symbolic book, one in which he translates his life into writing through metaphors. In fact, it is a book where he pours out his soul onto the pages with complete nakedness and guides the reader with flawless honesty.

In short, it is the first book that will hold the hand of anyone who has heart to face themselves…

I think the most striking part is that a book written in just two weeks has today been translated into 70 languages. A tremendous success! He has become the most widely read Latin American writer after Gabriel García Márquez.

After reading The Alchemist, a short break is a must. It’s like drinking a delicious, strong coffee after which you don’t crave the taste of anything else.

Because the book encourages you to search for your own treasure, and you don’t want your focus to scatter for a while.

Briefly, the story: It tells the life of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd who sets out from Spain to seek his treasure at the foot of the Egyptian Pyramids.

The treasure I was searching for, however, was love. Everyone seeks love in different times and spaces, but the greatest discovery is the love one holds for oneself. At times it is forgotten, and at times it returns to us and embraces us again.

After a while, I came across By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept. Before reading it, I had to think about how much tolerance I had for love and drama. I was in a period when I had grown weary of relationships…

I used to believe that love was a feeling only possible to receive from another person.

The book gave me the chance to reflect on the transformative power of feelings that had once caused me pain. I believe Coelho was greatly inspired by his former close friend—today his wife—Christina Oiticica, when creating this work.

In another book, he mentioned that Oiticica, who is a painter, loved creating her art by the riverside, while he would accompany her by writing. They are a couple who love riverbanks. Coelho is a writer who frequently emphasizes both his love for his wife and his admiration for the power of water.

The book contains profound reflections on forgiving oneself and others, releasing spiritual burdens, and becoming free. For this reason, it has felt heavy to some of its readers…

Tears and inner pains are portrayed as rituals that ultimately cleanse the soul.

This reminded me once again that crying over our sorrows is just as natural an expression as feeling exuberant joy over our loves. There are very few rituals as comforting as being able to cry with passion!

I think during this period I learned not to console someone when I saw them crying, but rather to accompany them—and I realized that if I did not have the ability to love myself, I would not be able to love others anyway…

Briefly, the story: By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept is the author’s second book in Turkish, a tale of passion and love. In this novel, Coelho discovers the feminine face of God. A man with miraculous power, devoted to religion, and a woman named Pilar, who desires his love and is unwilling to share it even with God. Pilar, a strong woman with her feet firmly on the ground, meets again after eleven years the boy who was once her close friend in childhood, and she falls once more under his spell. Yet although the young man shares her feelings, he cannot decide, he cannot set his desires free. A journey they embark on together opens Pilar’s heart to new experiences.

Yet the journey of searching that I had begun with The Alchemist had only just started, and I was curious about what Coelho would offer me in his other books. As I said, I never read them one after another; at the very least, I left a year between each.

During that time, my mind and my curiosity were also evolving. As a woman, I too was beginning to discover the emotions and abilities that stem from my gender. Because a woman’s emotional world is like a piano capable of creating various works. And if a woman shows enough patience to learn how to read the notes and press the keys of the piano, she experiences the awe of creating her own art. It is such a rare feeling that she also wants to guide and hear the melodies of the people around her.

And so The Witch of Portobello came to me at such a time. I was slowly beginning to see. As the main character, Athena, progressed on her journey of self-discovery, I inevitably found myself following her steps.

Throughout the novel, we hear Athena’s story through the eyes of different narrators; this is an important reminder that truth cannot be understood from a single window, but through many perspectives. At the same time, it is a powerful proof of how our prejudices govern our lives…

Today, the concept of “witch” may sound commonplace to many, but for conservative people it remains frightening. In this book, as in some of his other works, Coelho speaks often of people who, though excluded by society, are capable of forming deep bonds with the universe and sensing the unseen. In the culture of his home country Brazil, magic and witchcraft also have deep roots and a long past.

Of course, since mysticism, dancing, rituals, and conversations around a fire are my personal weaknesses, the book may have drawn me in even more. And really, who doesn’t love to dance?

Briefly, the story: The Witch of Portobello, published in 2006, tells the story of a woman named Sherine Khalil and her search for and discovery of herself. Throughout the book she is referred to as Athena. Sherine Khalil is adopted by a Lebanese family. They begin living in Beirut, and after a while the family moves together to London. Athena takes many steps in her journey of self-discovery, most of which are spiritual. At times, some priests accuse her of corrupting public morality, of leading people toward despair and false beliefs, which puts Athena in difficult circumstances. Yet Athena never gives up. Even though many negative things happen to her in this process, she continues her path without losing heart.

I danced a lot, and still do… I danced at home, danced in my mind while resting, danced in the shower, danced in clubs, and I don’t even know how many other times I danced amid the various journeys of my life…

I set my soul free…

Dancing not only opens new doors in the soul but also creates new living spaces. It fuels your desire to travel from the very beginning. While watching the sky from atop a wheel, you begin to explore the world. Of course, you can also do this by buying a ticket and going miles away, or by putting on your shoes and walking just three blocks. What matters is to keep discovering.

Journeys are the most precious resources for understanding people, and more importantly, ourselves. My energy was so high that the wind never left my sail. One day, a book with a colorful cover appeared before me in a bookstore, Hippie. Our energies clashed so intensely that I decided to welcome it into my life.

In his youth, Coelho had a hippie period, living life at full speed in a circle of drugs, happiness, peace, and freedom. He also mentions sleeping on the streets and experiencing a homeless life without rooting himself anywhere.

Such independence creates exhilaration, and exhilaration keeps a person fearless and  healthy. It attracts people around you who are on the same energy frequency, deepening your solo explorations in the dimensions of peace, experience, and happiness.

Coelho’s protagonist also joins the famous “Immortality Train” journey, traveling from the Netherlands to Nepal. Along the way, he meets different people; through their stories, loves, losses, and hopes, he discovers the diversity of life.

This book is a delightful companion for a holiday and a juicy summer fruit. You have to eat it without washing and without peeling…

Briefly, the story: In September 1970, there were two places competing for the honor of being the center of the world: Piccadilly Circus in London and Dam Square in Amsterdam… In September 1970, plane tickets were prohibitively expensive, so traveling by plane was only possible for the elite. For the vast crowd of young people, the situation was different. In September 1970, the world was ruled by women… Perhaps it would be more accurate to say young hippie women… In September 1970, everyone had paranormal powers, and those who didn’t were on the path to gaining them… In September 1970, when Paulo, dreaming of becoming a writer, traveled the world in pursuit of freedom and met Karla, both of their lives were radically changed; the lost cities of Peru, the dungeons of Brazil, the backstreets of Amsterdam, and the bazaars of Istanbul became pieces of a whole… Hippie, perhaps the work closest to Paulo Coelho’s own life story, is the tale of the search and transformation of a peaceful generation believing that another world is possible.

Then summer ends, and before the sun fades from your skin, work, and the rush begin. You dream of living like a hippie, without any worries. But life must be taken seriously, because it shows us through its unexpected surprises that it takes us seriously.

Under some rains we dance, under others we only get wet, and sometimes we cannot fight…

At such times, the advice of someone who has walked that path offers a little cooling balm. Who knows, if our ears have the patience to listen, those advice guides us and extends a ladder into the pit we are in.

For this reason, Maktub is a book that makes you want to mark certain pages and take notes.

It’s the kind of book whose guidance you’ll want to remember on your journey.

Read it over and over—remember it.

If it were up to me, I would also release a pocket version. You never know when it might come in handy!

Briefly, the story: “I come from Turkey,” said the man to the master. “I made this journey to ask you just one question.”The old man looked at him in surprise: “Very well. You may ask me a single question.”“I should ask the question I want to ask you clearly. May I ask my question in Turkish?”“You may,” replied the wise man. “I have answered your one question. If you want to learn anything else, ask it of your heart—it will answer you.”

In Maktum Paulo Coelho offers a colorful treasure of experiences through the eyes of different cultures. In Coelho’s words, “Maktub aims to convey experiences rather than be a book of advice.”These clear texts, drawing nourishment from every source of oral narrative without distinguishing origins, offer the reader both a moment to breathe amid worldly chaos and an opportunity to know themselves more closely.

And of course, there is also the winter season. After the rains come the bone-chilling cold. You know, the day you go outside in a light jacket, not realizing the weather has grown cold enough, and catch a chill for the first time. When your throat aches, you finally convinced that winter has arrived.

You don’t want to give up, but occasionally retreating into your nook, quietly resting and accepting, is also healing.

At the same time, it is a good opportunity to work more efficiently and with discipline. There are fewer distractions, but there are stress and challenges. Within these harsh conditions, you want to stay true to your determination and taste success. Sometimes, however, the warrior within succumbs to various emotions and anxieties, losing strength. You wish someone would remind you of your power.

Warrior of the Light waits by your bedside for just that. Like Maktub, Coelho’s art is both a spiritual guide and a book of aphorisms. It speaks to the brave, pure, and spiritual side that exists within every person.

Coelho, who has a deep connection with the art of Aikido, does not actually teach fighting; rather, he accompanies you to preserve inner enlightenment, act with love, and continue your path despite difficulties.

As he himself says, he does not tell us anything new that we didn’t already know. He merely reminds us of the light within.

Briefly, the story: Warrior of the Light is a call to live our dreams, embrace life, and confront our destiny. With his unique style, Paulo Coelho helps each of us discover the “warrior of light” within ourselves; he calls us all to the path of the warrior: the path of the one who knows the value of the miracle of being alive, who accepts defeat, and who can ultimately become the person they wish to be.

Warrior of Light is a gift of wisdom from the author of The Alchemist.

Well, we go through hardships, we lose on some fronts and savor victories on others. Then comes such an age, such a time, a certain day when the voice within begins to ask a question.

“Is this it?” it says. You traveled, had fun, lived your loves, ate and drank, endured sorrows, then grew again. Is this all there is to live and see?

No matter which country you visit, which love you taste, which clothes you try on, it still doesn’t sit right inside. Surely, it can’t be just this. Because a human being longs for a purpose. You realize that the things you’ve done before, the decisions you’ve taken, the choices you were so sure of—you mistook them for purpose.

And when this itch arrives, Paulo Coelho offers you such a sweet book: The Archer

Of course, I too came across this question. If only I worked at this company, or wore that outfit, or looked a certain way, or got married and had children?

Naturally, these are a great part of my life, but none of them were what set my soul on fire.

That was the day I founded Consomniohikayeler. I created a blog page to share my stories, to cultivate myself. At first, I was shy and embarrassed, I could never quite like what I had written.

Then I returned to the way of the archer. Instead of wasting time tormenting myself, I took lessons and advice from people I saw as masters in this craft.

Long story short, I worked on my shots until the arrow in my hand hit the target I wanted. Sometimes the conditions changed so I changed my bow, I learned how to read the wind, I discovered how deceiving the light could be…

Coelho’s book tells, through a delightful story, how one must work on strategy and the mind to reach their purpose. In its narration accompanied by illustrations, we follow a master archer and a young man eager to learn his teachings.

Every morning, Coelho himself practices archery in his own space at home too. He is a devotee of the art of archery and sees it as a meditative practice. There is no doubt that while writing this book, he drew directly from his own experiences.

Briefly, the story: Every arrow’s flight is different. If you shoot a thousand arrows, each one will show you a different path: this is the way of the archer.Tetsuya, the most skilled archer in the country, lives a humble life as a carpenter in a small village, until one day an archer from distant lands arrives to challenge him… By accepting this challenge, Tetsuya will pass on the philosophy of archery both to the foreign archer and to one of the young men of the village.

Although there are countless handbooks, strategies, and methods, sometimes the situation is very simple. A great pain has been experienced, or losses have left deep wounds. This may happen to us personally, or it may happen to someone we love.

At such times, even the purpose we have been sweating for can fade. We know that we must pass through a narrow strait. There is no shortcut to it—you cannot leave the storm without reaching its eye. What kind of equipment will help along the way is highly relative.

Yet, two things always prove useful: time and patience.

The dark labyrinths a person must cross eventually appear before them. The only difference is that each person’s path is different. Coelho tells of one such case in Veronika Decides to Die.

Veronika is admitted to a mental institution simply because she decides to die. That’s how simple it is…

Coelho himself was committed to a mental hospital by his family in his youth. Creativity can sometimes be translated as madness. But really, how do we separate madness from normality? Who defines what is normal? What is certain is that the hospital experience gave him a unique perspective.

It is definitely not as gloomy a book as one might expect. Of course, that depends on the angle from which you choose to look. Personally, I can say it stirred quite the opposite—positive feelings.

Briefly, the story: Veronika is a young woman who seems to have everything—living a colorful life, going out with handsome men—yet she is not truly happy. She feels that something is missing in her life. After a failed suicide attempt, she finds herself in a mental institution, where she learns that she has only a short time left to live. Already determined to die, Veronika begins, in this process, to meet people from different worlds and gradually discovers her own identity…

I absolutely do not believe that the book I am about to talk about came into my life by mere coincidence. I had gone to the Netherlands for a holiday to visit my friend, and while wandering among the historic houses, I decided to craft a story.

Shortly after I finished my story, we came across The Spy. The mystical coincidence here was that both my heroine and Coelho’s were women, and both were born in the same city in the Netherlands.

I love such magical coincidences. The Spy, which Coelho adapted from a true-life story, was inspired by the real-life story of the famous dancer and iconic figure Mata Hari.

I remember Mata Hari from the black-and-white films my grandfather screened and from the old posters sold in Kadıköy. However, after reading the book, I got to know this woman through Coelho—someone who used her brilliant mind to survive during wartime and never gave up her passions.

Coelho beautifully explores Mata Hari’s life story through themes of social prejudice, female identity, freedom, and justice.

No matter what anyone says, I will never believe she was merely a spy. She was a talented warrior.

Briefly, the story: Mata Hari’s only crime was being a free woman: a woman who would not bow to her fate in a world full of boundaries and limitations…In The Spy, Paulo Coelho, drawing on the correspondence between Mata Hari—accused of espionage and sentenced to death in the early 20th century—and her lawyer, transforms this extraordinary personality into a novel’s protagonist, exploring the mysteries of life and love.

And of course, Aleph…

Although I was surprised that Coelho has works directly connected to Turkey and Turks, our coming from societies that share cultural similarities could be a beautiful explanation.

Still, the meeting of a famous Brazilian writer and a Turkish violinist cannot be explained solely by this similarity. Coelho, feeling that he was in a spiritual dead-end, sets out on a long journey aboard the Trans-Siberian Express.

He sometimes speaks of going through such emotional states and how being on the road always does him good.

This journey is not just a geographical travel; it is also an exploration through layers of the soul and an encounter with past lives. Strongly spiritual and metaphysical, this book actually offers a glimpse into the journey of our souls, striving to evolve within every body.

Sometimes, the events that occur and the decisions people make do not seem logical to us. Yet perhaps they have a consequence in another life…

Do you believe in reincarnation?

Briefly, the story: The main protagonist of Aleph, the world-famous writer Paulo Coelho, feels that his development on the path of wisdom has come to a halt. Perhaps all he needs to do is follow the advice of his mysterious master J. and go “where your heart draws you…”

Coincidences propel Coelho toward Russia. He decides to traverse the entire 9,288-kilometer expanse of this vast country entirely by train.

In the journey I took with Paulo Coelho, I tried to share my thoughts based on the books I read and the experiences they gave me.

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

See you in a new post 😊