Sorry it has been a while since my last blog. In fact my last post was by a guest blogger. But the simple truth was that I had nothing to write about. And I refuse to bore readers with the details of my everyday life (like some bloggers).
But just to update you, I have been writing with a ferocity I have never felt before. I am very excited about this story and that’s why this next novel is moving along. Though still in its rough draft state of infancy, I have a clear vision of where it’s going.
The purpose of this post is to reach out and see if there is anyone out there who can help me. You see, for the past 25 years I have had a recurrent dream. It is a dream with variations on the same theme. As I dream I recognize it as such. Moreover, I believe it is connected with the novel I am currently writing. Perhaps, for 25 years I have been destined to write this story.
So, for those who are not interested in dream interpretations, feel free to stop reading at this point. You won’t hurt my feelings. For those who are interested I would love you to leave a comment here, or email me at: lauren@laurenbgrossman.com.
Each dream involves a large house with many rooms. I am the owner. As I enter each room there is a door which leads to other rooms, which lead to more rooms, etc.
Example of a dream I had maybe 20 years ago, but is still vivid in my mind: I have just bought a house and I enter a room. It has dark paneling and lots of built-ins. The former owners must have left in a hurry because the drawers still are full. At first I am annoyed that I have to clear out their mess, but then I realize that you never know what you might find. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure, right? I leave that room to explore my new house, and I enter a room. It is as large as a warehouse. There are many beds in this room. Metal springs and thin mattresses – the kind you had when you lived in a dorm in college. They are all strewn about the room n disorder. I make my way through the room and pass into another room, which is obviously some sort of trailer. I think to myself, “Oh good, I own a trailer, too.” There are other smaller details, but that is the gist.
Another dream is in an apartment I live in which has doors that lead to many other rooms. Some have stairs to climb to get to the next room.
The one particular dream I had which lends me to believe it is a connection with my novel was this: A white manse which I have gone through, though I never make it through every room for there are too many. I find myself at the bottom of a hill looking up at the manse. It sits on a grassy knoll with an identical manse slightly angled next to it. I am with children at play. A nun comes for us (I am Jewish) and tells us to follow her. I realize this residence is an orphanage and I live there. I can still see it clearly.
As I said, the dreams are the variations on the same theme. But why do I have these recurrent dreams? Not every night, not even every month, but several times in a year, I will awaken and recognize the theme.
Here’s the clincher for those readers who have stayed awake reading with this post: My novel is about a real woman who survived the Holocaust because her parents could not afford to feed her. Like many people had to do, they sent her to an orphanage run by nuns. It is only a small portion of her story, which I have turned into an historical fiction. But I had the revelation while rereading the story that it connects to my dream of when I was an orphan looking up at the white manse on the hill.
Karma? Reincarnation? Coincidence? Too much spicy foods before bedtime?
Seriously, if you have any thoughts I would welcome them. It has baffled me for 25 years. My hope is that if it is a connect to this novel, that the dreams will end when I finally go to publication.
What are your thoughts?
