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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
THE LATEST
Widowed: My Husband’s Stuff Is Still Here. I’ve Got My Reasons
Marriage is mostly about presence, about being there. Jon’s not here anymore. But his belongings are. 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.
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
Huston Smith on the Most Important Thing You Can Do in 2025
After nearly a century devoted to the study of life and truth and the meaning of it all, religion scholar Huston Smith had some advice for his fans. Read more.
The Art of Rhetoric — If a Two-Year-Old Can Master It, So Can You
Even my toddler knew how to ply the art of rhetoric. It’s something we humans use every day, on each other, starting at an early age. Read more.
DON’T MISS!
I’m Thankful For a Clean Oven, Fresh Ice Cubes . . . and a Daughter-in-Law-to-Be
What I’m grateful for, what I’m jazzed and excited about today, are the small things that have gone right for me lately: A clean oven, freshly washed windows, and a new steppingstone path for the garden — all in time for Thanksgiving. See more.
Jesus Was a Loser — Does That Make Donald Trump a Winner?
Jesus was a loser who couldn’t keep his hair out of his eyes. That’s satirist Scott Dikkers channeling Donald Trump in his new — very funny — book “Trump’s America: The Loser’s Guide.” Read more.
When the Bride Doesn’t Wear White — And Neither Does Anyone Else
It’s an Indian wedding with all the trimmings — drums, gongs, garlands of flowers, priestly blessings and flocks of women wearing gorgeous saris. I’m a Westerner. What do I wear? Read more.