Sarah Wernick; wrote women's health bestsellers

SARAH WERNICK

More than a decade ago, Boston writer Sarah Wernick read about Tufts University exercise physiologist Miriam Nelson's groundbreaking studies on the benefits of strength training against aging.

"She was bold enough to write me a letter," Nelson said. "She was a person who was so incredibly decisive and talented, and that's an understatement. We put a proposal together, found an agent, and sold the book."

Nelson and Ms. Wernick wound up writing three international bestsellers: "Strong Women Stay Young" in 1997; "Strong Women Stay Slim" in 1998; and "Strong Women, Strong Bones" in 2000. The books have been translated into 13 languages.

Ms. Wernick, a freelance writer, authors' mentor, and mother of two sons, died Tuesday at her home in Brookline. She was 64 and was diagnosed with endometrial cancer in 2005.

In a story for Woman's Day, she wrote about her own struggle to get fit.

"Exercise held no appeal for me. When I drove past the local women's gym, whose picture windows overlook the street, I laughed at the joggers bobbing on treadmills like gerbils in a cage," she said.

Inspired by her research, Ms. Wernick joined that gym and began a quest to become the strongest woman there.

She was born in New York City. Her father, William, was a math teacher and her mother, Ruth, was a librarian.

Ms. Wernick's first calling was sociology. She earned her undergraduate degree from Barnard College and her doctorate in 1973 from Columbia University. She taught at Northeastern University, Regis College, and Washington University in St. Louis but grew disenchanted with academia and began writing for newspapers and magazines, said her husband, William Lockeretz.

"She was very, very smart," Lockeretz said. "She had a great analytical mind."

They met in high school in the Bronx and were married for 41 years.

Ms. Wernick started out writing restaurant reviews for the Brookline Tab and later wrote for The Boston Globe, Working Mother, Parents magazine, and Smithsonian.

Her latest book, published this year, "The Probiotics Revolution: The Definitive Guide to Safe, Natural Health Solutions Using Probiotic and Prebiotic Foods and Supplements," was a collaboration with microbiologist Gary Huffnagle of the University of Michigan.

Ms. Wernick's first book, "The Emotional Problems of Normal Children," written with Dr. Stanley Turecki, was named one of the best parenting books of 1994 by Child magazine.

Ms. Wernick's article about lung cancer, "The Silent Killer," in Ladies' Home Journal, won the 1997 American Medical Association's President's Prize for excellence.

She collaborated with Dr. Claudia Henschke of Cornell University and Peggy McCarthy of the Alliance for Lung Cancer Advocacy in 2003 on the award-winning book "Lung Cancer: Myths, Facts, Choices - and Hope," which won first place in the American Medical Writers Association's competition. The book also won the Roth Memorial Award for Health and Medical Books from the American Society of Journalists and Authors.

Her editor at Random House, Toni Burbank, said Ms. Wernick had a gift for conveying complex topics.

"She was never afraid to say, 'It's boring. What can we do about it?' " Burbank said. "She could write for the general public without talking down to them."

Her interviews with cancer survivors gave her strength after she was diagnosed, her husband said. "It was not the medical aspects but the emotional and social aspects. She looked back on those interviews and got a lot of good wisdom," Lockeretz said.

Ms. Wernick was very active in professional writers' groups. She enjoyed mentoring young writers and educating them on how to handle publishers and agents. She also had a reputation for dishing out tough criticism, and was not afraid of being on the receiving end.

"This was a woman who was so nondefensive about getting criticism and corrections. She just welcomed anything that helped her write better," Burbank said.

Ms. Wernick presented talks and workshops for the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism, the National Writers Union, and the Women's National Book Association.

On her website, she offered detailed, free advice to writers on how to hone a book proposal and negotiate collaborations with specialists.

As a young woman, Ms. Wernick was a gifted student who spent most of her time reading, her brother Peter of Longmont, Colo., said. He fondly recalled his sister's gifts of his first banjo records. He now plays professionally as Dr. Banjo.

In addition to her husband and brother, Ms. Wernick leaves two sons, David of Long Beach, Calif., and Benjamin of Brooklyn. Her funeral and burial were private.