I want to understand people, and I need to understand my relationship with God, at least the aesthetic idea which I consider to be God. Writing is one of the methods by which I explore these central themes. My studies in psychology and religion have been two other important methods. I care greatly about the human condition. Steinbeck and DosPasos were important early influences. Dostoevsky, Conrad, and Tolstoy were important in high school. In college I went on to discover Checkov and Kafka were added to the mix. Throw in a healthy does of existential philosophy and run through a good education (private school, Princeton, and a PhD in psychology). Bake in over thirty years of mental health practice and sprinkle with some theological and pastoral studies. This is the recipe that produced Ken Weene, the writer.