Prior to his death, Kobe Bryant and author Paulo Coelho worked on releasing a children’s book in the future. But now, Coelho doesn’t see a reason to work on it anymore.
The Brazilian author, best known for his novel, The Alchemist, scrapped the project and deleted the draft of the book he and Bryant were working on. Following the helicopter crash that took the lives of nine people, including Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, Coelho said the book has “lost its reason” for coming to fruition.
He wrote on Twitter,
You were more than a great player, dear Kobe Bryant. I learned a lot by interacting with you. Will delete the draft right now, this book has lost its reason
Bryant was a longtime fan of The Alchemist, recommending the book to many within the NBA over the last few years. In 2019—as seen in the tweet above—Bryant messaged Coelho, suggesting that the two pair up to write a book together.
In an interview with the Associated Press, the author explained that deleting draft will not stop him from writing about Bryant in the future, but it “didn’t make any sense to publish [the book] without him.”
A multitude of Bryant’s fans commented under Coelho’s tweet, asking him to continue working on the book to honour the late basketball legend, especially for Bryant’s family.
“Please don’t delete it, Mr. Coelho,” said Twitter user @Lici_Wags.
Mamba Mentality would say to persevere, to persist. Fight the good fight.” @JoeVengance gave Coelho a recommendation to “take the pain & use it for something beautiful.”
