In 1974, Coelho was arrested for 'subversive' activities by the ruling military government, who had taken power ten years earlier and viewed his lyrics as left-wing and dangerous. Composing with Raul led to Coelho being associated with magic and occultism, due to the content of some songs. Upon his return to Brazil, Coelho worked as a songwriter, composing lyrics for Elis Regina, Rita Lee, and Brazilian icon Raul Seixas. One year later, he dropped out and lived life as a hippie, traveling through South America, North Africa, Mexico, and Europe and started using drugs in the 1960s. They did not do that to destroy me, they did that to save me.' At his parents' wishes, Coelho enrolled in law school and abandoned his dream of becoming a writer. Coelho later remarked that 'It wasn't that they wanted to hurt me, but they didn't know what to do. Born into a Catholic family, his parents were strict about the religion and faith. Do you actually know what it means to be a writer?' At 17, Coelho's introversion and opposition to following a traditional path led to his parents committing him to a mental institution from which he escaped three times before being released at the age of 20.

He's a logical, reasonable man with a very clear vision of the world.

Upon telling his mother this, she responded, 'My dear, your father is an engineer. As a teenager, Coelho wanted to become a writer. Paulo Coelho was born in Brazil and attended a Jesuit school. In 2014, he uploaded his personal papers online to create a virtual Paulo Coelho Foundation. He is best known for his novel The Alchemist. Paulo Coelho de Souza is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist.

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