Mattie Stepanek

Mattie Stepanek was a remarkable child who wrote inspirational

poetry, raised funds for muscular dystrophy, and was an advocate and

fundraiser for children with disabilities and for world peace.

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Becoming an internationally known peace advocate at a young age is impressive. Having
seven books on the bestseller list is even more remarkable. Doing all of that before the
age of fourteen is nothing short of amazing!
Mattie Stepanek did all of that and more - and who knows how much more he could have
done if he had lived past his teenage years. Mattie was born with a rare form of muscular
dystrophy, a disease that also killed his sister and two brothers in early childhood. In
Mattie’s case, he was a month short of his fourteenth birthday when he died.
In his few years of life, Mattie made a bigger impact than most people do in an extended
lifetime. Although he knew his time on Earth was going to be limited, Mattie was
determined to keep a positive and hopeful attitude.
He began writing inspirational poetry when he was three years old to help him cope with
his brothers’ deaths. The poems were so beautiful that his mother sent them to a
publisher. That book, and six more collections of poems and essays by Mattie, became
bestsellers and brought comfort to millions of readers.
All of Mattie’s writing was based on his belief that each of us has a “heart song” - a
special gift that we can give to others, and that this gift is the reason we were born.
Mattie used the fame he earned from the success of his poetry to help raise funds for