A great example of false waking, also called nested dreams. Wertz's isn't just rattled by the content (she's alcoholic and fighting to stay sober) but by the structure, too--the added unease of doubting you're really awake can really shake you! Is it over, or could you wake again? (Yes, you could! I've had dreams nested five deep and read reports of even more layers.)

Ann Faraday noted in the 1970s that such false waking seemed to be a precursor to lucid or psychic dreams--as if false waking's a practice for a new awareness--but this nightmare, and ones like it, hint it's also a great way for dreams to wave a big red warning flag--as I think they do here.

--Chris Wayan

SOURCE: Impossible People: a Completely Average Recovery Story by Julia Wertz, 2023, p.95. Her best book so far, and highly recommended.

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