Story of life, love and cancer

This September 2007 photo was the last taken of Brenda Hall, with her husband, Ray, before she passed away from cancer in 2008. Ray has published a book about her struggles and donating all his proceeds to breast cancer research. (Aug. 7, 2009) When Ray Hall's wife, Brenda, died last August, he started writing the story of her life, their love and her battle with cancer as a way to help him get through his grief.

Now, Hall is using those healing words to spread awareness about breast cancer and raise money that will help fund the search for a cure.

"I set out to write our story because I had a lot of notes, and it helped me with the grieving process. When I read it back to myself, I said, 'This sounds like a pretty good story,'" Hall said Monday, as he sat in the Caine Woods home he and Brenda built with their own hands in 2004.

Ray and Brenda were childhood sweethearts who met at a dance when they were just teenagers. They spent "36 years, one month and 23 days" as husband and wife, moving to Ocean City from northern Virginia because of their love for the beach, until Brenda lost her battle with a recurring cancer Aug. 9, 2008. She was 55.

"She, to most people, would be just an ordinary woman. But to me, and a lot of people, she was one of a kind," Hall said.

Brenda struggled through a battle with breast cancer, only to have the cancer return, this time in her brain, about eight years after she was given a clean bill of health. After she passed away at home, her husband by her side, Hall, a recreational writer, put pen to paper and wrote their story.

Hall said he did not intend to write a book, or even to have anybody ever read the words he wrote; but after reading the story that helped him cope with his loss, he wanted to share his and Brenda's story to help other people who might be facing the same situation.

"It's a story of life, love, and also a medical journal," Hall said of "As Normal as Possible: A Breast Cancer Story."

It took Hall six months to write the story, using the diaries and notes he had kept out of necessity during Brenda's illness. In March, he began searching for a small publishing firm. The book was picked up by iUniverse, and the first copies were printed three weeks ago.

Hall is donating all of his proceeds from the book sales to breast cancer research. His goal is not to make money or bring fame, but to raise awareness of cancer issues and how the illness affects the patient and their loved ones.

"It would be exciting to know your donation helped find a better treatment option or even a cure," Hall said.

Hall said his wife was a shy woman who never wanted to be the center of attention and who took care of herself and those she loved. In fact, she continued to look after Hall, who has some dangerous food allergies, right until the very end.

"In her last months, she called our friends and asked them to watch over me when she was gone," he said.

The book is available online at Amazon.com, BarnesAndNoble.com and at other online booksellers' Web sites. It is also available at the Hallmark store in the White Marlin Mall and at Body Double in Fenwick Island, Del.

"I got a card from a lady in Delaware who said she felt Brenda's presence when she was reading the book, that it created images in her mind of her beautiful spirit," Hall said. "That's the feeling I wanted people to get."