In 1978, while a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Dennis Ruane had two hobbies, writing and woodcarving. At that time, he began keeping a journal with the intention of writing a novel one day. Two years later, he turned his woodcarving hobby into a part-time business when he began carving and selling wooden spoons. In 1982, Dennis abandoned his science career to follow the life of a craftsman and moved back to his native Pennsylvania. At present, Dennis has been self-employed as a woodcarver for twenty-seven years. He continued to write in his journal, but a number of attempts