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During his career as an orthopedic surgeon, Barry Friedman ’38 wrote mostly about medical topics, including non-fiction articles based on his experiences as a physician during World War II and while volunteering at hospitals in Israel during the Yom Kippur War in 1973.
After his first retirement, he decided to make use of the notebooks of interesting experiences he had been accumulating over the years.
“No one was interested in publishing a book of ‘What I Did on My Summer (and Winter, Autumn and Spring) Vacation’, so I expanded and embellished some short stories into full-length books,” says Friedman, a biology graduate.
In May 2003 he published his fourth novel, Prescription for Death, which was a finalist in the San Diego Book Awards. The plot involves a plan to fake heart attacks and commit insurance fraud, and a young doctor who risks his life and reputation to find out the truth. The story was inspired by events surrounding the suicide of the dean of Friedman’s medical school following an insurance fraud perpetrated by several graduate students.
Friedman’s love of writing began at Lafayette, where he worked on many campus publications and even co-authored a musical comedy entitled The Laughayettes of 1938.
“(English professor) William Watt was an inspiring and stimulating teacher. That, plus my experience on the editorial staffs of the publications, fired up an interest in writing which has never flagged.”
Friedman also appreciates the positive influences of biology professor Beverly Kunkel, who contributed to his interest in biological sciences, and Dean Theodore Distler, who talked him out of his original plan to go to veterinary school.
“He convinced me to go to medical school, for which I am forever grateful,” says Friedman.
He does much of his research and writing while traveling with his wife of 60 years.
“I go along kicking and screaming all the way,” he says. “My other traveling companion is my laptop, and after I’ve seen all the cathedrals and souvenir shops I can stand, I write.”
Friedman’s current projects include “Sleeper,” a mystery about a child in an unexplainable coma, and “Mr. Hyde and That Other Guy,” which he calls “the story Robert Louis Stevenson might have written if he lived in today’s world.”
Friedman also serves on the advisory board of the International Rescue Committee, which helps to resettle refugees from countries ravaged by war, famine or flood.
He often can be found on the golf course, where he recently scored his fourth hole-in-one.
“At age 88, I’m fortunate that I can swing a driver instead of a cane, and ride a golf cart instead of a walker,” he says.