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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
Kids Who Cheat. And Those Who Don’t
By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment
Kids who cheat and those who don’t: My husband was disturbed by what he saw — some kids playing touch football at the park, cheating. Read more.
New! Get Barbara’s Special Gift
Wondering how that kid of yours will turn out?
Take heart. They might surprise you. My daughter did!
I tell that story in this free Special Edition, Was our daughter headed for the dark side?
To get your copy of this free downloadable PDF, enter your email below – and check your Inbox. Enjoy!
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Recent Riffs on Life
The Night I Forgot to Make Dinner — A Rerun From the Archives
By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment
I planned a nice candlelit evening for my husband for that night, just as I’d dreamed of doing as a girl. Except I forgot to make the dinner. Read more.
The Feminine Feminist — An Oxymoron?
By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments
The feminine feminist — is she a contradiction in terms? Can a woman wear pink to the boardroom? Inch-long fingernails to the track meet? 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
DON’T MISS!
Is It OK to Kill Stuff? Yes, If It’s a Mosquito or a Eucalyptus Tree
By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments
Is it OK to kill stuff? I couldn’t kill the spider lurking in my shower. But I can kill invasive eucalyptus trees and dive-bombing mosquitoes. Read more.
A Widow’s Christmas Card — Where’s Jon When I Need Him Most?
By Barbara Falconer Newhall 10 Comments
My first widow’s Christmas card — my husband isn’t here to compose the poem and photoshop the card. How do I pull it off without him? Read more.
Death, Taxes, the Constitution. The IRS Has Granted a Reprieve. Will the Grim Reaper? Sheltering in Place Week 5
By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment
Death, taxes, the constitution. One has been postponed to July. Death is closer than ever. But what about the permanence of Ben Franklin’s constitution? Read more.