11 minutes

11 minutes
by Paul Coelho

A book that traces the journey of a young girl living in the remotest town with big dreams of a happy family and a comfortable life, only to end up as a prostitute. It describes how she searches for herself, her thoughts, seperates her body and her soul and finally finds peace, contentment and love. It reflects on the meanings of love, sex and emotion.

It was one book that was gripped and showed you the side of the coin which you probably never see. Especially great to read were the diary entries of the girl that have been penned by the author with utmost care.

Some quotes that I really found interesting:

- A twenty-nine year old man, "No, they never hurt me. I was very happy in both my marriages. I was unfaithful and so were they, just like any other normal couple. Then, after a while, I simply lost interest in sex. I still felt love, still needed company, but sex ... but, why are we talking about sex?"

- In love, no one can harm anyone else; we are each of us responsible for our own feelings and cannot blame someone else for what we feel. It hurt when I lost each of the various men I fell in love with. Now, though, I am convinced that no one loses anyone, because no one owns anyone.

That is the true experience of freedom: having the most important thing in the world without owning it.

- Love is not to be found in someone else, but in ourselves; we simply awaken it. But in order to do that, we need the other person. The universe only makes sense when we have someone to share our feelings with.

A must read. I would recommend you guys to catch hold of one for sure.
I will sign off by quoting: "Eleven Minutes. The world revolved around something that only took eleven minutes."
Hope you enjoy it.


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Keep walking