Craig Woodall published a book in August about losing his brother Brent, a La Jolla High School and UC Berkeley athlete killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The book, "Overcome: Rebuilding Hope After Losing My Brother on 9/11," traces Craig's 25-year journey through grief, from a Colorado classroom where he watched the attacks unfold to a career in public speaking about loss and recovery. NBC San Diego reported that Craig, a former teacher, coach and high school principal in Colorado, struggled privately with grief for years while showing up for his students and family.

Brent Woodall grew up in La Jolla and starred at La Jolla High before heading to Berkeley. The WHYY Sports in America podcast reported that he played tight end on Cal football teams that won back-to-back bowl games, including the 1991 squad that finished eighth nationally. He also helped Cal's baseball team reach the College World Series in 1992 and was drafted by the Chicago Cubs that summer. He pitched two years in the minor leagues before becoming an equities trader in New York in 1995, according to the 9/11 Living Memorial.

Brent was 31.

He was working on the 89th floor of the World Trade Center's South Tower when hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 struck the building. Craig Woodall, a former principal at Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins, Colorado, told the Fort Collins Coloradoan that his last conversation with Brent came about a week before the attacks. Brent told him they were expecting their first child.

"If I was going to pick a last conversation, that's a hard one to beat," Craig Woodall told the Coloradoan on Friday, Sept. 11. "I don't know if I ever had a better conversation with him in our lives."

Brent's daughter, Pierce Ashley Woodall, was born six months after his death. She went on to play volleyball at Columbia University. In 2003, Brent's widow Tracy Woodall started the Brent Woodall Foundation to support children with autism and developmental disabilities.

Craig said the years after his brother's death sent him into what he described as a deep downward spiral, according to the Coloradoan. He said he coped by sleeping in and abusing food and alcohol. Recovery came through meditation, exercise and speaking at schools, churches and other organizations about his experience. He also delivered a TED Talk about his grief journey.

The book, Craig told the Coloradoan, is mostly about the struggle. He said he felt compelled to share what he wished he had known while grieving. On the Friday, Sept. 11 episode of the WHYY podcast, Craig said he will always identify with the attacks but refuses to be defined by them.

Craig Woodall spent the 25th anniversary of the attacks at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City, where the Coloradoan reported he has visited for about 10 of the anniversaries.