保羅·柯艾略，1947齣生於巴西裏約熱內盧。少年時代，因叛逆，被視為精神疾病受到三次電擊治療；青年時代，因反對政治獨裁，被投進監獄；1986年，38歲的他踏上去往聖城聖地亞哥之路，心靈頓悟。

從1987年的《朝聖》開始，18部作品以68種文字齣版、655個版本全球在160多個國傢和地區齣版發行，銷售總量超過1億冊，榮獲國際大奬無數，被譽為“唯一能夠與馬爾剋斯比肩，擁有最多讀者的拉美作傢”。

柯艾略以博大悲憫的心胸、奇絕獨特的視角、清澈如水的文字，將哲學沉思、宗教奇跡、童話寓言熔為一體，感動瞭全球上至各國政要、國際巨星，下至平民百姓、販夫走卒在內的數以億計的讀者，甚至目不識丁的人，也對他的文字世界無限神往。2007年，由於其作品的深遠影響力，聯閤國聘請他為聯閤國和平大使。

In his latest international bestseller, the celebrated author of The Alchemist addresses the fundamental questions asked by millions: What am I doing here today? and Why do I go on living?

Twenty-four-year-old Veronika seems to have everything she could wish for--youth and beauty, pleny of attractive boyfriends, a fulfilling job, and a loving family. Yet something is lacking in her life. Inside her is a void so deep that nothing could possibly ever fill it. So, on the morning of November 11, 1997, Veronika decides to die. She takes a handful of sleeping pills expecting never to wake up.

Naturally Veronika is stunned when she does wake up--at Villete, a local mental hospital, where the staff informs her that she has, in fact, partially succeeded in achieving her goal. While the overdose didn't kill Veronika immediately, the medication has damaged her heart so severely that she has only days to live.

The story follows Veronika through the intense week of self-discovery that ensues. To her surprise, Veronika finds herself drawn to the confinement of Villete and its patients, who, each in his or her individual way, reflect the heart of human experience. In the heightened state of life's final moments, Veronika discovers things she has never really allowed herself to feel before--hatred, fear, curiosity, love, and sexual awakening. She finds that every second of her existence is a choice between living and dying, and at the eleventh hour emerges more open to life than ever before.

In Veronika Decides to Die, Paulo Coelho takes reader on a distinctly modern quest to find meaning in a culture overshadowed by angst, soulless routine, and pervasive conformity. Based on events in Coelho's own life, Veronkia Decides to Die questions the meaning of madness and celebrates individuals who do not fit into patterns society considers to be normal. Poignant and illuminating, it is a dazzling portrait of a young woman at the crossroads of despair and liberation, and a poetic, exuberant appreciation of each day as a renewed opportunity. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.