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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
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Book Openers

As a little kid I always had my nose in a book. And now that I'm thoroughly grown up, I still do. Below you'll find author profiles (lots of memoirists) as well as mini – and not-so-mini – book reviews.

Book Openers: Memoiring in the Mountains with the Bestselling Jasmin Darznik

November 8, 2011 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

I first met Jasmin Darznik back in 2006, and right away she presented a problem. We were in the same nonfiction writing workshop at Squaw Valley and I didn’t know what to say about her manuscript.

Book Openers: Is Polygamy Normal?

October 25, 2011 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 7 Comments

Love Times Three authors

Is polygamy normal? If gays can get their marriages legalized, what’s to keep all those polygamists from seeking legalization of their status as well? Read more.

Book Openers: Good News — Life Is Flawed and There Is No Fixing It

October 10, 2011 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

There comes a time, in the second half of life, when we must realize that we are doomed to failure, says Richard Rohr.

Twenty-two Years Later, A Tiananmen Survivor Finally Tells All

October 6, 2011 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 1 Comment

book jacket A Heart for Freedom by Chai Ling.

Twenty-two years after the crack-down at Tiananmen Square, a leader of the protests there finally tells her story. Why did it take so long? Read more.

Book Openers: Forgiveness Is Tough — Atonement, Even Tougher

October 3, 2011 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

Beyond Forgiveness book jacket. author phil cousineau

TV host Phil Cousineau looks at the flip side of forgiveness — atonement — in his new book “Beyond Forgiveness.” Read more.

Book Openers: Meet the Polygamist Family That Inspired TV’s “Big Love”

September 20, 2011 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 7 Comments

Inspired Big Love: Alina, Vicki and Valerie with husband Joe Darger at the 2011 RNA conference.

I got a close-up look at the polygamous Darger family, three wives, one husband, who inspired the TV series “Big Love.” Read more.

Book Openers: Robert Bellah on Religion and Evolution

September 12, 2011 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

Sociologist Robert Bellah on Religion and Human Evolution

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

A Case of the Human Condition: I’ve Got a Dirty Little Secret — I (Still) Can’t Say No to Toys

ewok hut toy about 16 inches tall with ewok characters. Photo by BF Newhall

Some people can’t resist chocolate. For others, it’s clothes. Some folks, oddly enough, will spend $110,000 on a Ferrari with no back seat and hardly any trunk. Imagine that . . . For me as the mother of young children, toys were my weakness. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

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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!

Mark-myer-painting-eppleton-hall

The Little Tug That Could — Cross an Ocean. Scott Newhall and the Eppleton Hall

Author Barbara Falconer Newhall manages a smile, despite the discomfort of a brand new intraocular lens. Photo by Barbara Falconer Newhall

The Cataract Chronicles — I’m Not Lovin’ My New IOL

The view from the bow of a ferry boat making its way through the San Juan Islands in summer. Photo by Barbara Newhall

San Juan Islands Flora: Or, I Cling, Therefore I Am

Book contests. An IPPY gold medal awarded to Wrestling with God, by Barbara Falconer Newhall, 2016. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Kudos for Wrestling with God — The Author Shamelessly Keeps Score

MORE DON'T MISS!

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