Brees's mother, Mina Brees, died on August 7, 2009, at age 59, from a prescription drug overdose. The death was ruled a suicide. Brees was briefly excused from training camp for a "family matter". In 2006, Brees described their relationship as "nonexistent" ever since he refused to hire his mother as his agent when he entered the NFL, saying that she undercut his dealings with other agents and tried to sell a book about him to "Sports Illustrated" without his knowledge, and later that year he told her to stop using his picture in TV commercials during her campaign for the Texas 3rd Court of Appeals. After her death, Brees stated that this quote was three years old and that his relationship with his mother had been improving. In his autobiography, released almost a year later, he wrote that their relationship had been on the mend and that she had been looking forward to her meeting his son; her first grandchild.