Mattie Stepanek lived just 14 short years. But in that time, he made a greater impact on the world than many of us do in a lifetime.

Mattie suffered from a rare form of muscular dystrophy, which eventually led to his premature death. His disease led him to begin lobbying on Capitol Hill on behalf of people with disabilities, and he became a spokesperson for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. But, that’s not all. Mattie was also a poet, philosopher, peacemaker, and best-selling author.

He became close friends with former President Jimmy Carter, Oprah Winfrey and Maya Angelou. In addition to the Oprah Show, he also appeared on Larry King Live, Good Morning America and the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. As you can tell, Mattie wasn’t your average boy. His mother, Jeni Stepanek, has written a book about Mattie’s remarkable life.

Our Matt McClure sat down with Jeni to find out about it. Here is part 2 of that interview.