Born in
Cheverly, Maryland, Brick moved to Dallas as a teenager. He graduated from
R. L. Turner High School in
Carrollton and the
University of Texas at Austin. Brick was on the staff of
The New York Times from 2001 to 2008. He covered events including the
Enron scandal and
Hurricane Katrina with
The New York Times. In 2013 and 2014, he was an adviser for
The Daily Texan, the student newspaper for which he had written when he attended UT Austin. He joined the
Houston Chronicle in 2014, and published a column known as The Sporting Life. Brick followed several teachers, a number of students, and the principal of the school as he was writing the book. Patrick Welsh of
The Washington Post said that the book "is a compelling, enlightening account of a school community rising to save itself." Brick wrote music and played guitar and mandolin. In college, he formed a band known as Bottle of Smoke, and later in Brooklyn, he started another band in Brooklyn called The Music Grinders. He was survived by his wife and three children. ==References==