Best-selling Boy Poet Promotes Peace

N E W  Y O R K, April 8 -- He's just 11 years old, but Mattie Stepanek has been promoting peace through poetry for years.

Mattie's body suffers with a rare form of muscular dystrophy, but his words exhibit an incredible inner strength.

"When I was born, people were questioning whether or not I would live," Mattie said. "I would stop breathing a whole lot."

Mattie needs a ventilator and a wheelchair, and has been in and out of comas. In a sense, his whole life has been a recovery.

When he was only 3, he began writing poems because it helped him get through days where he could barely get out of bed.

Since then he has written two poetry books, Heartsongs and Journey Through Heartsongs. Talk show host Oprah Winfrey held up his newest book on her show last year, and it became a best seller.

Book Excerpts

A Young Champion

One of the poems from Journey Through Heartsongs is called "On Being a Champion." In it, Mattie writes, "A champion is a winner, a hero, someone who never gives up, even when the going gets rough."

Mattie said poetry is a helpful and beautiful way to express feelings, whether they are angry, sad, happy or scared feelings. "You can share it with others, so that they can feel better when they're in those positions," he said.

Surviving the Storms

Mattie has survived some incredible challenges in his short life. Aside from his own struggle, he has lost a sister and two brothers to the same disease. His mother, Jeni Stepanek, has a less serious form of the disease and passed it on to the children unwittingly.

Mattie admits that sometimes he wonders why it happened to him. "Sometimes I will think why me? Why did my brothers and sister die? Why am I stuck in this wheelchair? But then again, I think why not me?" he said.

Mattie said it's better that he struggles with the disease, instead of another little baby.

"We all have life storms, and when we get through them or recover from them we should celebrate that we got through it instead of just mourning and waiting for the next one to come along and wipe us out again," he said.