The Alchemist

by Paulo Coelho

Foreword

I don't have a ready-made formula to apply when I embark on a new book. Still, I'm always controlled by many elements: discipline, compassion, and a sincere eagerness to understand myself. When I start a new book, I try to approach myself from a different angle. In THE ALCHEMIST, for example, I was trying to explain to myself what writing meant to me. The way I found to do this was through a metaphor. With this book I wanted to share with my readers the questions that make life a great adventure precisely because they have no answer. I wrote this book in two weeks.