Patricia Boulay Brack, whose struggle against breast cancer and its effect on her family was the subject of a book she wrote with a son, died Monday of complications from cancer at her White Hall residence. She was 53.
Mrs. Brack lost one breast to cancer in 1985 and the other in 1989.
For the book, "Moms Don't Get Sick," which was published in 1990, she kept detailed journals through her surgeries, chemotherapy sessions and recovery while her son Benjamin taped his impressions of events.
They started work on the book in 1985 when Benjamin was 10.
"We went through all the classic stages of grief: denial, depression, anger, bargaining, alienation and acceptance. These stages are shared not only in their terrifying aspects but with humor and irony as both Ben and I reacted, as family members tend to do, at cross purposes and with mixed signals," Mrs. Brack wrote.
"Nonetheless, Ben and I explored the possibility that survival is not always possible: recognizing that death is sometimes a premature reality is part of the strengthening for parent and child," she wrote. "The book has continued to receive acclaim from physicians, counselors and readers for its caring toughness and courage in the face of adversity," said her husband of 30 years, Bill Brack.
"Pat was someone who taught everyone about living and dying. She taught us with love, support, humor and great courage," said Suzanne K. Brace, executive director of The Wellness Community -- Baltimore, a support group for cancer patients and their families, and a survivor of breast cancer. Mrs. Brack was a volunteer for the group.
Born in Baltimore and a graduate of Western High School, Mrs. Brack earned a bachelor's degree from Towson State College and began teaching in schools in Baltimore and Baltimore County.
In 1973, she joined the faculty of the Bluebird School in Ruxton, now the Ruxton Country School. She helped establish Ruxton's middle school division in 1986 and was head of the division until November 1994. She also taught creative writing at the school.
"She had the most incredible sense of spirit," said Judy Banker Barrett, headmistress of Ruxton. "She was loving, warm and very good with adolescents. She had a great way of working with them."
Joan Owens, who taught with Mrs. Brack at Ruxton for 15 years, said, "No one who has ever had any contact with her will forget the experience. So many children need the right kind of understanding and they got it from her. Their lives were all changed by knowing her."
Mrs. Brack built dollhouses and wrote about restoring the family residence, a Victorian farmhouse in White Hall.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Feb. 11 at Brown Memorial Woodbrook Presbyterian Church, 6200 N. Charles St.
In addition to her husband and son, she is survived by two sons, Jonathan Brack of Greenville, N.C., and Sean Brack, serving with the Army at Fort Knox, Ky.; and a sister, Lee D'Zmura of Severna Park.
Memorial donations may be made to the Ruxton Country School, 11202 Garrison Forest Road, Owings Mills 21117; or The Wellness Community -- Baltimore, 901 Dulaney Valley Road, Suite 710, Towson 21204.