If you haven't 'met' Mattie Stepanek, you are in for a treat. What a neat young man! Although he just missed celebrating his 14th birthday, he was wise far beyond those few years. I enjoyed every story his mother, Jeni, the author, shared in this autobiographical narrative about her life with this incredible child. Although poignant, Messenger was told with admiral restraint. I tried picturing myself in Jeni’s place writing about my own son and I couldn’t do it. The title refers to the fact that Mattie’s short life was entirely lived ‘on purpose’ and his purpose was to be a messenger for world peace. One of the first duties associated with the Heavenly Angels is also to be messengers and in fact, Mattie ‘died’ several times in his short life. His near death experiences, plus his constant awareness of his mortality (he suffered from a rare incurable neurological condition which had already taken the life of three older siblings) gave him an insatiable desire for an end to violence and total credibility in that mission.

A not-to-be-missed book!