Vellie: I identify myself as a reader, not a writer. But seeing Phil’s excitement writing about the experiences and memories that were important to him, led me to want to experience that excitement about writing that would help me understand myself and grow. With his encouragement, I started writing about myself, setting aside any thoughts about publishing a book. Once I began writing, the process did fulfill its promise, and writing and re-writing became a part of my life over the next four to five years. My early reading of newspapers and magazines about politics and world events developed into more extensive reading in politics and then into American history, historical biographies, and politics in other cultures. Another influence in my self-education in my twenties came from a European friend who gave me many volumes of the classic novels. My interests have continued to expand, and now I am also fascinated by biblical history; and lately I’m finding an interest in evolution. What is important to me is that my mind has opened, and I have developed and enjoyed my curiosity about the world.
Philip: From the time I was a boy, I felt a connection with nature, and loved to hike and bird, and enjoy looking and seeing everything around me. For several years, I had backpacking adventures, hiking with the Sierra Club in the Sierra Nevada several times, Alaska, and once to Peru with the Appalachian Mountain Club. As a boy I read continuously, stories, especially about animals, and books by explorers and their adventures. In high school and through college, I read classic novels whenever I had time. I edited the first editions of our high school newspaper. Writing papers for philosophy courses taught me to write analytically. Shifting into clinical psychology involved a different kind of reading and writing; and I published The Psychology of Religious Doubt, which had been my PhD dissertation. As a trainer of the bioenergetic institute, I initiated and edited the first editions of the journal for the international bioenergetic institute. The next book I wrote was Sex and Self-Respect, the Quest for Personal Fulfillment, which summarized the first twenty-five years of my experience as a therapist.