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Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

  • A CASE OF THE HUMAN CONDITION
  • MY EVER-CHANGING FAMILY
  • WRITING & READING
  • MY ROCKY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
  • WIDOWED
  • FUNNY BUTTON

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About Barbara

Barbara Falconer Newhall at her home office desk getting ready to do final edits on her book, "Wrestling with God." Photo by Barbara Newhall

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

My Mother Was a 1950s Tradwife. She Wanted It. She Got It

By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

at-the-beach-in-the-1940s

My mother was a tradwife, a bona fide 1950s tradwife. That’s what she wanted. That’s what she got. 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.
"Wrestling with God: Stories of Doubt and Faith" book cover with photo of author Barbara Falconer Newhall

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

Click to learn more about "Wrestling with God"

Recent Riffs on Life

The Trouble With Poinsettias

By Barbara Falconer Newhall 10 Comments

poinsettias

The trouble with poinsettias is — they don’t know that Christmas is over and it’s time to make an exit.  Read more.

Widowed: If I Visit His Grave, Will It Help?

By Barbara Falconer Newhall 10 Comments

newhall-gravesite-colma

I said hello to Jon and his family, and then there was nothing more to do in this graveyard.  Read more.

MORE RIFFS ON LIFE

CATEGORIES

  • A Case of the Human Condition

  • My Rocky Spiritual Journey

  • My Ever-Changing Family

  • On Writing & Reading

Need some levity? Push my Funny Button!

DON’T MISS!

Huston Smith Dies at 97: A Mentor to Me . . . and Millions

By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Huston Smith signed copies of his book, "And Live Rejoicing," at Sagrada bookstore, Oakland, CA, in September, 2012. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Huston Smith doesn’t know it, but he’s been my mentor for the past decade and a half – ever since I took a job as religion reporter at a local newspaper. Read more.

Yea! A Book Contract for “Wrestling with God”

By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Writer Barbara Falconer Newhall in her writing room holding a copy of her book contract with Bondfire Books. Photo by Jon Newhall

Good news. I’ve signed a contract with a publisher for my book "Wrestling With God." The publisher is Bondfire Books in partnership with Patheos.com.

Widowed: Who Will Look After Me Now That Jon Is Gone?

By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Farmers-market

Jon was the one I could count on for rides to car repair shops and colonoscopies. Who will look after me now?  Read more.

MORE DON'T MISS!

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

At the Feet of Annie Dillard, Memoirist, Essayist, Observer of the Real

A well-read copy of"The Abundance" by Annie Dillard. Photo by Barbara Newhall

What draws me to author Annie Dillard — what makes me want to turn off the TV and grab one of her books — is her eagle-sharp eye for the world as it truly is. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

CATEGORIES

  • A Case of the Human Condition
  • My Ever-Changing Family
  • On Writing & Reading
  • My Rocky Spiritual Journey

 
Need some levity? Push my Funny Button!

TO MY READERS

Please feel free to share links to my posts with one and all and to quote briefly from them in your own writing, remembering, of course, to attribute the quote to me and to provide a link back to this site.

My Oakland Tribune columns, btw, are reprinted by permission of the Trib. With the exception of review copies of books, I do not accept ads or freebies of any kind. Click on the "Contact" button if you have questions. Enjoy!

 

DON’T MISS!

wrestling-with-god-by-barbara-falconer-newhall-new-cover

Help ‘Wrestling with God’ Find Its Readers

A chinese girl in navy sweater and white collar gives the peace sign to foreigners on the GReat Wall. Photo by BF Newhall

For China’s Young Fashionistas the Cultural Revolution Is So Over

4-year-old-girl

Old and Getting Older — The Octogenarian and the Four-Year-Old

donald-trump

It’s Time to Forget the Coronavirus for a Few Hours a Day — And Find Some Normalcy. Sheltering in Place Day 12

MORE DON'T MISS!

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