James Vodnik

James Vodnik was born in Milwaukee in 1949 to a Catholic mother and an Agnostic father, this oldest of five grew up in a poor, working-class neighborhood. A shy child, intensely curious, asking questions, challenging elders and the status quo, early on wondering, ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Why am I here?’ He delivered newspapers as a boy and helped the family financially.He graduated with honors from UWM with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Philosophy. Concurrently, he was a Conscientious Objector to the Vietnam War. As a Zen practitioner, the desire for truth and meaning prompted a lifelong study of the human condition.