21 Aldgate: Guest Speaker, Patricia Friedberg addresses Women of Sinai

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Guest Speaker, Patricia Friedberg addresses Women of Sinai

To an audience of 120 at the Membership Luncheon,
Temple Sinai, Sarasota Florida, Guest speaker, British Author,
Patricia Friedberg, in a dramatic and heartfelt presentation, shared both the political history of England and personal history during the build up to World War II and the austerity in its aftermath.

Her talk was received with overwhelming enthusiasm by the Women of Sinai. The WOS are important members of the community whose purpose is to represent those values that make proud the Jewish heritage of social justice, caring, community, commitment to Tikkun Olam/making the world a better place.

Special Thanks to Harriet Kaufman, Maxine Goodheim, Joanne Trachtenberg and Bunny Tabatznik

2 comments:

Richard OslerDecember 3, 2011 at 2:55 PM
Dear Patricia I was a close friend of Eva's for about 15 years. Would love to share any further stories you might have. DId you end up making a film with Eva? We are hoping to put together a bunch of memories fo5r a memorial to be held in 2012.
R
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PlumeDecember 4, 2011 at 3:44 PM
Richard - yes we made half of
'Journey from the Jarandas' with Eva in Bulawayo - Zimbabwe - unfortunately civil unrest curtailed the shoot.

I'm more than willing to share many fond memories of Eva

Pat Friedberg
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About the Author Patricia Friedberg

British-born author Patricia Friedberg grew up in London during World War II. She attended the Henrietta Barnett School and later the London School of Journalism. Soon after her marriage, the Friedbergs left England to live for many years in South Africa and in the Rhodesias - now Zambia and Zimbabwe - where Dr. Friedberg practiced medicine and where she was a journalist and writer of documentaries for the Rhodesian Newspapers and Rhodesian Television.

Due to civil unrest and for the safety of their children, the family came to America, where Mrs. Friedberg attended university and wrote columns for community and organizational papers, and hosted a television talk show, '"People of the Book," for the NBC affiliate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

In addition to her talent as a writer and journalist, Mrs. Friedberg has composed music for theatre, written prose for a ballet and has travelled extensively with her husband, a professor of cardiology who lectured around the world.

She has co-authored with her daughter, Adrienne, two illustrated children’s books, Dear Sammie, A Letter to a child of Divorcing parents, and Dear Jake.

She is the mother of four children, each born in a different country, grandmother of eight, and now has four great-grandsons.

Synopsis

When young Clara Simon suddenly quit her steady job in Ernest Maxwell Abbott's law firm over his increasingly shabby treatment of Jewish clients, she soon realized the seriousness of her actions. Giving up any job in struggling, post-WWI London meant taking a chance.

Clara knew her family at 21 Aldgate would not be supportive. With that in mind she did the only thing a Londoner could do: she looked for a quiet place to have a cup of tea and think over her hasty decision. A coincidental meeting with a former Abbott employee resulted in the suggestion of a job offer in Chelsea.

Clara, reluctant to consider venturing into affluent Chelsea, finally agreed to meet with the important French artist, Paul Maze, who needed an assistant to help write his memoir of his work as a field artist during the First World War. Their working relationship ignited a passionate love that forever changed and haunted her.

On the tides of political and social chaos prior to the Second World War, Clara was forced to make decisions that risked both her life and her marriage.