"The Alchemist," Paulo Coelho's most popular novel and international bestseller was first published in 1988 celebrates a milestone by coming out with the 25th anniversary edition of the book.

Known to many as the book that catapulted Coelho into international recognition, Coelho's inspirations for the story was first known to be from "The Tale of Two Dreamers" by Jorge Luis Borges, a short story about two men dreaming of treasures and a story from "One Thousand and One Nights," a collection of stories and folk tales that was translated by Edward William Lane.

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With the release of the special anniversary edition, fans of the emotionally and spiritually stirring journey of Santiago, a young Andalusian shepherd can now look forward to the special edition cover; including a new foreword written by Paulo Coelho himself.

In light with the year-long celebration, Coelho himself discusses some personal and new thoughts about what has changed for him in the past years, his close relation to the story and characters of The Alchemist, the original inspiration for the book, and his message to his readers worldwide.

In a post from his official blog, Coelho divulges that his dream to be a writer was the starting point. His personal journey from France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain took him to a turning point in his life and made him write his very first book "The Pilgrimage" in 1987. It was after The Pilgrimage that he decided to write The Alchemist as a metaphor for his own story of someone fulfilling his destiny but took too long because it seemed unattainable.

Coelho imparts to his readers that spirituality is having the courage to take risks and doing something when everyone is stopping you.

To date, The Alchemist is still on the New York Times bestseller list.

TagsPaulo Coelho, The Alchemist, 25th Anniversary, International Bestseller, New York Times bestseller