Heartsongs by Mattie Stepanek
Book review by Diane Williams
Mattie Stepanek’s book, Heartsongs, tells a deeply moving and poetic tale of love, peace and ambition, and his personal plight defying adversity. There’s something intrinsically serene about Mattie’s approach to life. From the onset, the reader can infer Mattie possessed a ravenous appetite for life, for the poems he writes are effervescent and inchoate in his peaceful spirit, and his plainspoken mannerism is diplomatic and poetic in equal measure.
Mattie had a taste for excellent communication and excellent artwork. In his book, Heartsongs, Mattie welcomed us into his world, and gave us his worldview through his 19 poems and 5 illustrations.
Mattie had an outsize life to match his outsize talent. It was filled with the extremities of joy and sorrow. Mattie was born with a rare form of mitochondrial myopathy disease. He had many treatments but in the end there was no treatment; he had to learn to live with all the challenges the disease carried in tow. Also, Mattie had three siblings born with the same disease, and he witnessed the demise of them all. His life challenges pointed him into the direction of maturity; Mattie had to make sense of the world at a very early age. He gave his life purpose, passion and meaning. He spoke about his dreams, “When I grow up I plan to become a daddy, a writer, a public speaker and most of all a peacemaker.”
Each poem addresses peace, love, and heart. The poems are written very simply, and he drifted in some poems, resembling the education and knowledge of a youngster, yet they deliver a powerful adult message.
Mattie was a public speaker. He caught the attention of Oprah Winfrey, and she gave him a platform to speak to millions of people. Mattie shared his philosophy as a peacemaker, as he cites, “Always remember, play after every storm.”
Heartsongs, though written by an 11 year old, makes way to reach a large older population. The innocence of this youngster targets a general population, which includes persons with special needs, and/or anyone going through an unmanageable, life-threatening situation. This book speaks to the heart and appeals to our inner beings.
