About
Delores Lowe Friedman was born in Brooklyn, New York, and attended the New York City public schools. She gained both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Hunter College of the City University of New York. She holds a doctorate from Teachers College, Columbia University. She has taught in New York City public schools, and as a full professor at the City University of New York.
An advocate for literacy and parental involvement, she authored an education column for Essence magazine called “Education by Degrees” and a book titled Education Handbook for Black Families, published by Doubleday. During her twenty year academic career she was honored by the City University of New York several times as the recipient of major institutional grants. Her scholarly writings centered on her interest in equity in science education for girls and children of color, and early childhood education.
Now retired, Delores has returned to her first love: writing fiction. Wildflowers is her debut novel. In her spare time she enjoys figure drawing, going to the theater, and cooking. Her specialty is curried chicken. She and her husband of forty-four years live in New York City, and the two have a son who is a software engineer.
Featured Work
Wildflowers A Novel
We assume that our closest friends will be around forever. Sometimes we let years pass without checking in, confident that our paths will cross eventually and that the connection we once had will still be there. However, life doesn’t always work like that.
After learning of the death of her childhood friend Jewel, Camille is overwhelmed by memories. As young women, Camille, Jewel and Saundra formed a close bond—however, careers, love lives, and other circumstances conspired to separate the once-devoted trio. Jewel founded a successful black entertainment agency, and Saundra fell into a troubled relationship. Camille drifted away while in grad school and after the birth of her son. She recalls the reunion brunch she planned hoping to bring her friends back together– but time had changed everything.
Set in twentieth-century New York City, Wildflowers is about the dynamic of friendship of the three women. It is a coming of age story in which Camille must face hard truths about her relationships—and herself. She wrote in the 1960’s while in college that she and her friends were like wildflowers unfolding, each one unique. In the end, Camille realizes that friendships are often complicated and fragile, and she must become her own distinct and firmly planted self.
This coming of age story about the power and perils of friendship follows three women—Camille, Jewel, and Saundra—across several decades as they confront issues of family, love, betrayal, ambition, and race.
