In other cultures and in earlier times even in western culture, dreams have been taken seriously. The Bible tells us much about pharaoh's dreams, Nebuchadnezzar's dreams, Joseph's dreams and so on. Yet more recently in the West we have become reluctant to even mention our dreams to others, even though when we do mention them we discover that we often have similar dreams — about not studying for a college test, about being naked in public, about flying, etc.

In “Why We Dream: The Transformative Power of Our Nightly Journey” (2018), Alice Robb takes dreams seriously, and she explores the insights of scientists and dreamers who do the same.

Robb argues that our dreams can tell us something, but that also we can tell our dreams something. As for the latter, she writes about techniques that some people use to guide the direction of their dreams and to make nightmares less common or less frightening. Other techniques she describes help some people remember their dreams or to dream more lucid dreams.

Dreams offer "a window into our psyches," she writes. They can tell us what's really bothering us, and in some cases they can even provide solutions. There are many examples of individuals solving problems because of inspiration gained in a dream. Such people as Stephen King and Salvador Dali have used dreams as inspiration for some of their creations.

A sitcom husband is often chastised by his wife for something he did in her dream. Robb tells us this sort of thing can actually happen when dreams are confused with reality.

Robb suggests keeping a dream journal and sharing dreams regularly with like-minded individuals. If our minds are going to provide us with so much nighttime entertainment, why not remember it, share it and discuss it — just like one might do with a good book or movie? ( )

Got 13 pages in before I gave up on it. Seemed very culty & pseudoscientific.

A more apt title would be "POSSIBLE Reasons for Why We Dream," but I guess that wasn't going to make it past the marketing department. Interesting book overall though with very practical tips on how to remember your dreams and learn to lucid dream. ( )

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NOTE: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my honest opinion of the book.
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Why We Dream is a clearly written, well researched book about dreams that combines science, history and current research, with an anecdotal narrative that isn't overwhelming in terms of the book topic. The author explores connections between dreams and health, problem-solving, creativity and other interesting topics, such as lucid dreaming. Robb has written an accessible book about dreaming that would nicely complement any general book about sleep or that would provide a great introduction for those interested in dreaming.

I think dreams are fascinating, so this book was right up my alley. ( )