i sat by the river piedra and i wept

A new book by Paulo Coehlo that is truly in the same tradition of "The Alchemist" and "11 Minutes", the two other books of his that I have read. I remember reading "The Alchemist" and crying most of the way through it. I was so touched by the beauty of it and how the journey of the protagonist mirrored my own towards love. His heart aches. The risks taken. The pains that ensued. The sacrifices made. The ardent search for the God inside of himself...God's love.

Then "11 Minutes" was a little harder to read because it told the story of how one woman stumbled into the world of sex in her search for love...for meaning in life. I say "stumbled" because I could see how getting to a certain place is a collection of choices that at one time started out innocent and safe. I saw the path that so many young women take...how they let themselves get lured into sexual relationships simply because of lack of education about themselves and the world...because they want to feel loved.

"i sat by the river piedra and i wept" is simply a beautiful story of a man and a woman who love eachother and part of finding their love is reconnecting with God through the many different facets of religion...of love. It shared wisdom about being able to take risks. Listening to that part of you that is connected to God. That part that seems childlike and unrealistic but is the pure voice inside of you. The voice that knows your heart and speaks on its behalf. What was interesting is that he names that part of us that silences the pure, childlike voice, the "Other". Freeing oneself from the "Other" was important not only to reconnect with God but also to surrender to love...to take the risks necessary to be able to say that you have loved...you have lived.

I have never read the words of a man who understands women and love like Paulo Coehlo. If you have never read anything written by him, if you want to take as much wisdom as you can from an elder, this man is the one to read. It is interesting for me to say that each book I read, I read at important points in my life. "i sat by the river piedra and i wept" definitly speaks to my own journey toward connecting with God and taking those risks of the heart that could lead to love.