What was Mattie Stepanek famous for?
Matthew “Mattie” Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek (July 17, 1990 – June 22, 2004) was an American poet and advocate. At the age of 3, Stepanek started to write poetry to cope with the death of his older brother. His first five books are: Heartsongs, Journey Through Heartsongs, Hope Through Heartsongs, Celebrate Through Heartsongs and Loving Through Heartsongs. All five works made the New York Times’ Best Seller list. He wrote that a “‘Heartsong’ is a person’s special gift to be shared with others… or a person’s ‘reason for being.'” Stepanek had a rare form of muscular dystrophy, dysautonomic mitochondrial myopathy. His sister and two brothers died from the disease, and his mother has the adult form, diagnosed only after her children were born. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.
