Julia Johnston's uncle gave her Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist when she was 18, just back from Nicaragua and struggling. He'd read it himself and thought it might help her too. The book became a turning point during a difficult time in her life.
How old are you when the Alchemist comes into your life? 18. Who tells you about the book? I go and visit my family in Florida, and my uncle and I start talking, and I don't remember exactly how it came about, but he knew that I was, like, truly suffering. When I came back to the States from Nicaragua, I was bullied a lot. The walls were, like, closing in on me. And he was just like, I think you need to read this, because it helped me a lot when I was trying to figure out who I was. He understood without me having to tell him what was going on. I don't think anybody else maybe really saw me besides him.
