Voices
Valerie Schultz

Valerie Schultz is a freelance writer, a columnist for The Bakersfield Californian and the author of "Closer: Musings on Intimacy, Marriage, and God." She and her husband Randy have four daughters.

Articles By Valerie Schultz
Faith Last Take
In prison, writing is an act of redemption
Valerie SchultzSeptember 15, 2017
One day we may see one of their bylines in The New Yorker. One day these men will be released from prison.
Faith In All Things
Is a living wage too much to ask the Catholic Church?
Valerie SchultzJuly 31, 2017
While the church relies on volunteers in many instances, certain jobs require extensive training, which must be compensated.
Faith In All Things
Want to be a better leader? Serve those who serve you.
Valerie SchultzJuly 11, 2017
The best bosses approach their work as a way to help the people under them shine, grow, learn and perform their jobs as well as possible.
Faith In All Things
I never realized how much stuff I owned—until I had to move it.
Valerie SchultzMay 30, 2017
Three huge bags of baby clothes! My baby is 25. Why have I saved these things?
Politics & Society Short Take
What your mom wants (and doesn't want) this Mother's Day
Valerie SchultzMay 08, 2017
In my unofficial survey of mothers, not a single mother mentioned gifts as part of a perfect Mother’s Day.
Faith In All Things
From the Gospels to Elizabeth Warren, women nevertheless persist
Valerie SchultzMarch 29, 2017
Stories of persistent women abound in the Gospels.
Faith In All Things
God, why the common cold?
Valerie SchultzFebruary 24, 2017
When I persist in wondering “why,” I remind myself that Jesus knows all about this kind of contemplation.
An elderly woman prays during Mass Nov. 13 at St. Peter Claver Church in Baltimore (CNS photo/Bob Roller). 
Faith Last Take
Becoming a Sunday Crybaby: How I rediscovered the beauty of Mass
Valerie SchultzJanuary 22, 2017
I might have come in wounded, but during Mass I am healed and made whole.
Faith In All Things
When grief sneaks up on you in the grocery store
Valerie SchultzDecember 27, 2016
My parents found ways to make each other miserable towards the end of their marriage, but they also had times of deep love.
Faith In All Things
This is the day I will remember as the day I finally broke up with my parish.
Valerie SchultzNovember 18, 2016
We’ve been together for decades, but I've finally broken up with my parish.