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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
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
Recent Riffs on Life
Too Many Angry Diatribes. Not Enough Tact. Why?
On the air and in cyberspace: too many angry diatribes, not enough tact. Do we — you and I — really want to tone things down? Read more.
My Husband Was Bald — And Then He Wasn’t
With the covid shutdown, Jon stopped going to the hairdresser. Soon he wasn’t as bald as we thought he was. Read more.
DON’T MISS!
Day One: Self-Isolation — For Us It’s Already Been Two Weeks of Sheltering at Home
Jon and I have been sheltering at home — no Zumba classes for me — for two weeks now. And I have to tell you, it’s no fun. Read more.
In the Garden: Look What Happened to My Front Yard Over the Weekend
I wasn’t looking. I was at the computer all weekend with my back to the world. When I finally took a bleary look out the window Monday morning, I saw a front yard crazy with life — poppies, blue-eyed grass, armeria, pansies and several lascivious stalks of lupine blossoms. Read more.
Is an Istanbul Trip Too Risky for You? Here’s What You’re Missing
Jon and I took the kids to Istanbul back in 2009. What we experienced was a energetic culture with a rich past, great food and beautiful people. Read more.