Grief Dreams: How They Help Us Heal After the Death of a Loved One

by T. J. Wray, Ann Back Price

Overview

The universal experience of grief dreams can help us heal after the death of a loved one. In this book, T. J. Wray and Ann Back Price show how dreams can be affirming, consoling, enlightening, and inspiring. The authors guide readers in ways to understand and value their dreams, how to keep a grief dream journal, and how to use dreams as tools for healing.

This extraordinary volume explores the four most common types of grief dreams—the visitation dream, the message dream, the reassurance dream, and the trauma dream—and includes many other grief dream types, such as prophetic dreams and dream series. With compassion and great insight, the authors use real-life examples from people who have experienced the healing power of grief dreams. Wray and Price offer step-by-step guidance for understanding and valuing the various messages from our dreams—even the nightmarish shock-absorbing ones.

Grief Dreams explores the rich connections between faith and grief and the religious images found in our dreams and includes information about when it is appropriate to seek professional help. This book is designed to help mourners reclaim some measure of power in navigating the most difficult journey of their lives. Because it is helpful for all types of loss, Grief Dreams is an ideal resource for anyone who is grieving.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780787978266
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	01/14/2005
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	253 KB

About the Author

Dr. T. J. Wray is assistant professor of religious studies at Salve Regina University. She is the author of Surviving the Death of a Sibling: Living Through Grief When an Adult Brother or Sister Dies. She is the creator of www.griefdreams.com and www.adultsiblinggrief.com.

Ann Back Price is a Jungian psychoanalyst and clinical teaching associate in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island.

Table of Contents

Preface.

Introduction: Why a Book About Grief Dreams?

1. The Journey of Grief.

2. About Dreams.

3. The Visitation Dream.

4. The Message Dream.

5. The Reassurance Dream.

6. The Trauma Dream.

7. Other Types of Grief Dreams.

8. Faith and Grief Dreams.

9. How Grief Dreams Help Heal Us.

Reader Resources.

Selected Sources.

About the Authors.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Exploring the all too often unreported reveries of the bereaved, this pioneering volume reveals how the spiritual and psychological elements of grief dreams can assist through the circuitous journey through the ‘valley of the shadow.’ And it does so with both understanding and a profound sense of consolation.”—Rabbi Earl A. Grollman, author, Living When a Loved One Has Died

“This book is a rare find—one that both clinicians and bereaved persons will find not only thoughtful but helpful. This book is a wonderful gift that expands our knowledge of the experiences that arise as we mourn.” —Kenneth J. Doka, professor, the College of New Rochelle, and senior consultant, the Hospice Foundation of America

“In Grief Dreams T. J. Wray and Ann Back Price have written a sensitive, intelligent guide for people who are grieving the death of a friend or family member and who want to learn more about the strange dreams they are experiencing. Grief Dreams is a trustworthy companion in the mourning process.”—Kelly Bulkeley, former president, the Association for the Study of Dreams, and author, Visions of the Night and The Wilderness of Dreams

“Beautifully written and eminently practical, Grief Dreams is a groundbreaking healing resource for anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one. A wonderful and consoling guide to the world of dreams and how they help us move through bereavement.”—Tom Golden, LCSW, author, Swallowed by a Snake: The Gift of the Masculine Side of Healing, and creator of Webhealing.com