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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
What to Do With Those Battered Old Baby Shoes? Hide Them in a Wall, of Course
By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment
Those battered old baby shoes? Hide them in a wall. It’s centuries old tradition that lets you declutter without giving up your dear old stuff. 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
When the Rough-In Plumbing and Electrical Are Things of Beauty
By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment
The hidden secret behind the sheetrock in my bathroom — the rough-in plumbing and rough-in electrical are things of beauty. Read more.
My Porta-Potty Has Finally Arrived! And Coming Soon — A Bath Remodel
By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment
My Porta-potty has arrived. Finally. Coming soon, a brand-new bathroom with a huge stall shower, comfy bench and lots of grab bars. Read more.
DON’T MISS!
Splash! My New Mobile-Friendly Website Is Here
By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments
My new mobile-friendly website is up and running, and I feel the way I did when I got a brand-new inner tube with my name on it: ready to go places. Read more.
When the Bride Doesn’t Wear White — And Neither Does Anyone Else
By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments
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.
Kirkus Reviews ‘Wrestling with God’ This Month
By Barbara Falconer Newhall 7 Comments
Kirkus reviews ‘Wrestling with God: Stories of Doubt and Faith” in its print edition this month. Read more.