At Convocation 2015, The Steward School Alumni Association presented its second annual Alumni Achievement Award to Debbie Goldstone Horwitz ’90. Mrs. Horwitz is a breast cancer survivor who turned tragedy into triumph by creating two books that showed what recovery actually looks like for women after a double mastectomy.

Mrs. Horwitz was introduced by her friend and classmate, Shahwar Qureshi ’90, who nominated her for the award. They were two of 13 graduates in Steward’s Class of 1990, a year when the school population had just reached 200. After giving Mrs. Horwitz’s background, Ms. Qureshi said to her friend, “You have accomplished the impossible because you were brave enough to try.”

Borrowing the line from a friend, Mrs. Horwitz titled her acceptance talk as “I got sick, then I got better, and then I did something to help others.” With a brief description of her pre-Steward years at Richmond Montessori School, she explained that at both schools, “I got to be me.” With an outgoing personality, she said she had made many friends in her life, and those people were instrumental in helping her get better after being diagnosed with breast cancer at age 32.

After her diagnosis, Mrs. Horwitz said, the photographer who took her engagement photos had the idea to document the post-surgery process because they had had a discussion about the need to have pictures so that other women would know what to expect following a double mastectomy. This idea became not one, but two books over the course of several years — Myself: Together Again and Sherri’s Story. Since then, the books have become a standard part of the recovery process in doctors’ offices, cancer centers, and hospitals around the world. They have literally helped women put themselves together again.

Building on one of the central themes of Convocation, Mrs. Horwitz said she asked herself early in the idea phase, “What if we did this book? What if we create a website? What if we take these pictures?” Because of her foundation from Montessori and Steward, she said she had the courage to pursue those possibilities. She gave considerable credit for her success to former Steward Headmaster Paul Cramer, who was her public speaking teacher. Since the success of the books, Mrs. Horwitz has traveled the country making speeches, and she said she thinks of him all the time.

“Getting cancer was hard. Getting better was hard. But, helping others” made it all worthwhile, Mrs. Horwitz said. “Making the book and helping others was one of the best things I’ve ever done, and I never would have been able to do it if I hadn’t been allowed to ‘be me’ from a very young age.”

Mrs. Horwitz was profiled in the Fall/Winter 2013 issue of Crossroads, The Steward School magazine — to read more about her story, read the issue online.