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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
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  • MY ROCKY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
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My Rocky Spiritual Journey

You don't have to be a big believer to find something interesting to read here . . . You'll find excerpts from the spiritual journeys of people I've met on the religion beat as well as reports of my own fraught encounters with religion and spirituality . . . as well as updates on my book, "Wrestling with God: Stories of Doubt and Faith," from Patheos Press.

Spotted: Red Mary Janes at the Easter Vigil

April 6, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 8 Comments

red-mary-janes-at-the-easter-vigil mary-jane-flats-eitheror

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

March 30, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments

feral-plum-tree-blossoms

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.

Widowed: He’s Pushing Up a Daisy

March 23, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments

widowed: he's pushing up a daisy california-native-erigeron-daisies

I checked in on Jon the other day and I found him right where we’d buried him. He was pushing up a daisy. Just one.  Read more.

Widowed: The One Good Thing About Grief

March 9, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 1 Comment


the one good thing about grief damaged-mandala

The one good thing about grief  is — there’s not a darned thing you can do about it. Someone has died, and that’s that.  Read more.

Widowed: He’s Still Not Back and It’s Been Three Years

February 24, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments

widowed he's still not back  rain-february-19-bay-area

Where is Jon? I’ve been widowed three years and I’m still expecting him to come back. It’s not possible that he is gone for good, snuffed out.  Read more.

Widowed: The Things My Husband Wanted. (Or, We Are What We Want)

February 17, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments

JON-NEWHALL

I feel the sharpest grief when I picture my husband alive and wanting something, planning something — picking out artichokes for dinner, making a grandchild laugh. Read more.

Widowed: We’re Older and Kinder Now

February 10, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 12 Comments

we're older and kinder now kindness-carey-mulligan-as-felicia-montealegre

I’m older and kinder now, but not because I’m a virtuous goody-good. It’s my irresponsible id, my reptilian brain, that wants to be kind.  Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

My One-Woman Road Trip Begins — Grosse Pointe to Pentwater

A painting of Edsel Ford by Diego Rivera hangs in the Edsel Ford house in Grosse Pointe, now open to the public.. It's a beauty. Photo by Barbara Newhall

I jumped on a plane to Detroit the other day, rented a car, and took off for a twelve-day, one-woman road trip up and down and across my home state. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

CATEGORIES

  • A Case of the Human Condition
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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!

john-singer-sargent-la-carmencita

Widowed and Lonely

Cover of the Sept. 1, 2016, Kirkus Review, which contains a review of "Wrestling with God" by Barbara Falconer Newhall

Kirkus Reviews ‘Wrestling with God’ This Month

Author Barbara Falconer Newhall opens her copy of Publishers Weekly magazine, which had just arrived in the mail, to find that her book, Wrestling with God, got a starred review in the January 21, 2015, issue. Photo by Jon Newhall

“Wrestling with God” Got a Starred Review From Publishers Weekly — And I’m Doing the Happy Dance

The underside of a speckled orange Lilium blossom. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Point-and-Shoot Heaven: Photographing a Flower Garden Just Before Dusk

MORE DON'T MISS!

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