Hope Through Heartsongs - Hardcover

Mattie J. T. Stepanek

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786869445 ISBN 13: 9780786869442

Publisher: Hyperion, 2002

Synopsis

The award-winning bestselling poetry of 11-year-old Mattie Stepanek has touched the lives of hundreds and thousands of people. From Heartsongs, to Vietnam War Memorial, to Prayer for a Journey, Mattie has written movingly and courageously about life and death, love and loss, faith and hope, innocence and joy. His struggle with a rare form of muscular dystrophy has given him wisdom and insight, and his life, work, and message have been recognized by Oprah, National Public Radio, The Washington Post, ABC TV's Good Morning America, People, NBC TV's the Today show, and C- PAN's BookTV.

About this title

Review:

The celebrated child Mattie J.T. Stepanek continues his internationally inspiring poetry with Hope Through Heartsongs. For those who haven't followed Stepanek's rise to fame, this young phenomenon writes poetry that is wise beyond his years and has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and Larry King Live. Indeed, as Gary Zukav marvels in the book's foreword, Stepanek's wisdom seems to extend beyond what most human beings master in a lifetime. "A heartsong is something deep inside each of us," Mattie Stepanek explains in his introduction. "It's our sense of why we are here and how we can keep going. It's like a purpose. It may be to live as a mommy or a daddy, or a firefighter or a delivery person, or a child with a disability who teaches others about patience and love and acceptance."

As a child living with muscular dystrophy who has lost all three of his siblings to the same disease, Stepanek knows the landscape of loss and grief. How easy it would be to wallow in despair, yet Stepanek has chosen hope--not the wide-eyed hope of the innocent, but the hope consciously chosen in the face of human suffering and troubling global problems. Many believe that global healing has to start with the little people and move its way up to the leaders. What better place to begin than with the words of this amazing child?

You may be tall
I may be small,
But inside we are the same
length of strength
--Mattie J.T. Stepanek, June 1998

--Gail Hudson

About the Author:

Matthew J. T. Stepanek, best known as "Mattie," has been writing poetry and short stories since age three. His first three books of poetry are titled Heartsongs, Journey Through Heartsongs, and Hope Through Heartsongs. Mattie is a frequent public speaker who has appeared on Oprah, Good Morning America, and Larry King and has had his poetry published in newspapers and magazines nationwide. In 2002, Mattie was awarded the Children's Hope Medal of Honor, the Verizon Courage Award, and the Humanitarian Award from the Pediatric Nursing Society of America. Mattie serves as the Maryland State Goodwill Ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and was the National Goodwill Ambassador in 2002. He lives in Maryland with his mother, Jeni, where he is homeschooled.

About this edition

• Publisher: Hyperion
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0786869445
• ISBN 13: 9780786869442
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 76