Patricia Friedberg

Patricia Friedberg was born in London, attended The Henrietta Barnett School and continued her studies at The London School of Journalism. She married a South African doctor, who was furthering his studies in London, and they left for Southern Africa, living for ten years in what was then The Rhodesias, both North and South, first in Wankie (renamed Hwange) and later in Salisbury (renamed Harare after independence), Zimbabwe. While living in Wankie, Rhodesia she worked as Clerk of the Court in...See more

Patricia Friedberg was born in London, attended The Henrietta Barnett School and continued her studies at The London School of Journalism. She married a South African doctor, who was furthering his studies in London, and they left for Southern Africa, living for ten years in what was then The Rhodesias, both North and South, first in Wankie (renamed Hwange) and later in Salisbury (renamed Harare after independence), Zimbabwe. While living in Wankie, Rhodesia she worked as Clerk of the Court in the Office of the Native Commissioner, dealing with tribal and European law, before moving to live in the city of Salisbury (Harare) in Rhodesia, where she joined the newly formed TV station RTV (Rhodesian Television). Her experiences in Hwange allowed her to travel freely into the bush, taking along a photographer. From those interviews she produced a number of Tribal Documentaries and wrote articles to the Rhodesian Herald. Political unrest intensified in Rhodesia, and, for the safety of their children, the family reluctantly left to settle in the U.S. -- first in Baltimore and then in Milwaukee. In the years that followed, she travelled extensively with her husband, then a Professor of Cardiology, to major cities in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. Patricia attended a playwriting course at Marquette University where her first play, "Masquerade," won the play writer's award. She collaborated on a series of children's books, titled The Alfred Stories, adventures taken from her reminiscences of her own childhood in London during World War II. In keeping with that theme she composed the story and music for a musical, "Twenty-One Aldgate." As Moderator at NBC affiliate WMTJ-TV Milwaukee's "People of the Book," she interviewed major celebrities, politicians, including the Israeli ambassador, UN Representatives and various personalities in Art and Music. After moving to Florida she wrote the film script for her book "Journey from the Jacarandas," a feature film begun in Zimbabwe but interrupted and unfinished due to civil disobedience and government sanctions. Children's books, titled "Dear Sammie" and "Dear Jake: a letter from a grandparent to a child of divorcing parents," were co-authored with her daughter Adrienne Meloni. The novel "21 Aldgate" by Patricia Friedberg (Rainbow Books, Inc., 2010) was released in both the US and the UK. It is now available in softcover and ebook. The book has been optioned by Progress Pictures, Ltd., UK. See less