Former President Jimmy Carter shared a special friendship with Mattie Stepanek, a terminally ill boy and poet who asked the Make-A-Wish Foundation for a chance to speak to him about peace. What was ...

"If it hadn't been for Jimmy Carter, I think my son would have given up," Jeni Stepanek tells PEOPLE of her son, Mattie, who died in 2004 at the age of 13 Elissa Rosen is a writer-reporter at PEOPLE.

This video is no longer available. “We have known kings and queens, and we’ve known presidents and prime ministers, but the most extraordinary person whom I have ever known in my life is Mattie ...

At first, the young boy with the soft smile, wispy blond hair and gold wire-rimmed glasses too big for his face seemed startled by the swollen crowd and flashing cameras. All around him, people were ...

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. -- For a first-time author, Mattie Stepanek has had quite a literary debut. His book of poetry, "Journey Through Heartsongs," is among the Top 10 on The New York Times best-seller ...

Mattie Stepanek first learned about Jimmy Carter when he was just 6 years old. While most kids his age might not be interested in a former U.S. president, Mattie was different. "He said, 'Mommy, he's ...