Barbara Falconer Newhall

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

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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

Widowed: Archiving My Husband and Zodiac, His Scrappy 1970s News Service

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Zodiac-News-Service-Nov-11-12-1972

Can you archive a dead spouse? Can you stash them away in a temperature-controlled academic repository, to be preserved for centuries?  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

Happy Birthday, US of A. You Made It to 250.

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happy birthday us of a. 250 American-flag-flying-against-the-sky-250

Happy birthday, US of A! You made it to 250. A little the worse for wear, but still here.  Read more.

Sixteen Years Left to Live. How Many Bowls of Froot Loops Is That?

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froot-loops-at-my-grocery-store

In the sixteen years I’ve got left, how many of the gotta-do items on my to-do list will I get done?  Read more.

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DON’T MISS!

Holiday Gifts: Fun, Funky Fiber Art — Woolly Scarves, and Down and Dirty Angels

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Cordelia De Vere's fiber art doll, "Vintage Angel #3." As she healed from cancer, her dolls became more light-filled. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Funky Gifts: Fiber art gets earthy these days in Berkeley, where even angels can get down and dirty. Read more.

Feng Shui Tip for the Writing Room and the Bedroom — Your Mother’s Not Allowed, and Neither Are the Kids

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There are no photos in my my writing room. No kids, no parents, no family. Pictures of my parents have the worst effect on me when I’m trying to write. “When are you going to get a real job, Barb?” they shout from their frames as I enter the workroom. Peering over my shoulder, they pass judgment on me and my thoughts, “You’re writing about that? Shame on you.”

Widowed: A Love Letter From Jon Arrived This Week

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widowed-a-love-letter-from-Jon-my-husband

I’m widowed and a love letter from Jon, my husband, arrived this week — in the form of the house we bought and built together.  Read more.

MORE DON'T MISS!