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About Barbara
I’m Barbara Falconer Newhall and I’ve got a serious case of the human condition.
I’ve done it all: career, family, house, garden, and a prize-winning book, "Wrestling with God." The result: I'm a woman of years, lots of them, who can't help seeing things from the funny side.
Tucked away on this website are hundreds of riffs on life. I hope you’ll seek them out – and keep me company as I discover the humor, if not the meaning, in what life throws my way. Learn More
THE LATEST
Widowed: He Knew How to Show a Girl a Good Time
By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments
I was in the right place at the right time for the 2017 solar eclipse because my husband, Jon Newhall, knew how to show a girl a good time. Read more.
New! Get Barbara’s Special Gift
Wondering how that kid of yours will turn out?
Take heart. They might surprise you. My daughter did!
I tell that story in this free Special Edition, Was our daughter headed for the dark side?
To get your copy of this free downloadable PDF, enter your email below – and check your Inbox. Enjoy!
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Recent Riffs on Life
Spotted: Red Mary Janes at the Easter Vigil
By Barbara Falconer Newhall 8 Comments
When I spotted a pair of red Mary Janes at the Easter Vigil, my meditations flitted from shopping to death and resurrection and back to shopping. Read more.
Not Dead Yet. That Feral Plum Tree Lives On
By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments
The old plum tree lying on its side was a messy scramble of black and useless branches. But it was not dead yet. Read more.
BARBARA’S BOOK
★ Publishers Weekly, starred review
Any seeker of any faith will be blessed to read the words of this fine author and observer. Read more.
An inveterate doubter for most of her adult life, journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall embarks upon a quest to find a way to believe in God in the twenty-first century.
The result is Wrestling with God: Stories of Doubt and Faith, which details her search for the Divine in the lives of diverse Americans – from a fundamentalist Christian to a progressive Muslim to a Buddhist monk.Seekers of all persuasions will feel represented here, from priests, ministers, and rabbis to engineers, physicists, and avowed non-believers . . . a riverflow of a book. — Phil Cousineau, host of PBS’s Global Spirit
DON’T MISS!
What to Say to a Widow
By Barbara Falconer Newhall 8 Comments
What to say to a widow? Here’s a tip: If the widow in question is me — tell me a true story about my husband. Read more.
In Judge Harbin-Forte’s Courtroom — Where Jury Duty Is an Exercise in Mindfulness
By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments
What does a farm family in Michigan have in common with a courtroom in Hayward, California? A nearly forgotten social skill. Read more.
Widowed: I Don’t Like My Life
By Barbara Falconer Newhall 12 Comments
I’m widowed and I don’t like my life. Stranded 2,000 miles from home with covid proved easier than facing the life that awaited me back home. Read more.