title: Dreaming Beyond Death: A Guide to Pre-Death Dreams and Visions
author:  Kelly Bulkeley 
description: The authors offer a unique how-to on interpreting dreams one has during the period just before death. With a nod to various scientific and religious factions whose opinions of dreams range from considering them to be of no value to believing they are works of Satan, the authors contend that "one of the functions of dreaming is precisely to create the meanings that will help us face the end with courage and understanding." If the very thing that defines humans is the ability to find meaning, they say, then allowing oneself to experience, remember, and find meaning in dreams can only serve to enrich one's last days. To support that supposition, they present anecdotes gleaned mainly from hospice spiritual-services provider Bulkley's professional experience. They make a case in favor of dreams as endowing the journey to death with opportunities for mending fences, making peace with a troubled conscience, and looking beyond temporary pain to a rich reward or, at least, a welcome serenity. <i>Donna Chavez</i><br /><i>Copyright  American Library Association. All rights reserved</i>
zlib_text: 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I AM JUSTICE
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
    
    
  To those told their dreams are farfetched.  
  Those struggling with self-doubt.  
  Those caught in the comparison trap.  
  Those who continue to get up,  
  show up and never give up.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  One
  
  
  The air smelled of detergent and ocean. The night silence only interrupted by
  the occasional creak of the aluminium shed when the chill wind whipped
  through.
  
  
  In the darkness, the girl was just waking up. Her eyelids were heavy, her
  mouth bone dry, and she was aware of the sensation of cold, hard metal against
  her skin. Blinking and disorientated, she tried to get her bearings, but her
  vision was blurry. She could just make out a dim light, hovering in the
  distance.
  
  
  As her mind slowly cleared, a shot of pain penetrated her skull so intense, it
  made her nauseous and shiver uncontrollably. Willing her eyes to focus, she
  looked straight up. The sight that greeted made her heart race inside her
  chest, and the bile rise in her t