Dreaming Kevin: The Path to Healing: 2014 Expanded Edition

Dreaming Kevin: The Path to Healing, 2014 Expanded Edition, is the compelling story of a bereaved mother in search of her son in the dream time. Carla Blowey shares her quest to interpret an ominous dream predicting the death of her five-year-old son, Kevin, just hours before he died in a bicycle accident. This living nightmare heralds the many numinous dreams and synchronistic events offering her forgiveness, healing, spiritual growth, and new life. Weaving excerpts from her personal dream journal throughout this intimate narrative, Carla shares her most desperate moments in grief, and her extraordinary encounters with Kevin in the dream time. In this 2014 expanded edition, Carla includes an Afterword proposing the idea that our dreams reveal the hidden issues that block the path to healing during a range of life transitions from birth to death. Carla challenges dreamers and grievers to ask, “What does it really mean to be healed?” “How is our perception of grief and loss inhibiting healing in our lives?” “Why does the pursuit of healing trigger such volatile reactions of resistance?” Quite unexpectedly, while Carla was writing the Afterword on healing, a subsequent section evolved. “Notes from the Children” features interviews with the children of Dreaming Kevin. Carla believed that the children who experienced Kevin’s death first hand, and those who experienced it through their parents or from a distance, shared a bond not only with Kevin but also with one another. She wondered, “How deep is their trauma?" "What is their perspective of this life-changing event now that they are young adults and parents?” For the first time, the children of Dreaming Kevin share their experiences and perception of Kevin’s death and their grief, with each other and with Amber. The result is an astounding unedited, spontaneous, and universal dialogue on their silent and unseen grief. In a surprising ending, Dreaming Kevin comes full circle with an amazing gift from Kevin to Amber, his sister…23 years later.

Carla Blowey has gained insight, guidance and wisdom from her dreams for more than 25 years. In 1991, at age 33, she entered the most painful and challenging time of her life when the death of her five-year-old son, Kevin, and the nightmare that predicted it, forced her to re-examine her perceptions about death, grief and the afterlife. Dreaming Kevin became a valuable tool for reclaiming her life. Using her dream journal with much discernment and prayer, Carla discovered the symbols, metaphors and archetypes that led to forgiveness, healing, spiritual growth, and new life. In 1994, Carla began coordinating bereavement programs for children and adults. In 1997, Carla retired from hairdressing to be present for her growing family. In the midst of changing diapers and teaching her oldest daughter to drive, she answered the call to write Dreaming Kevin(c). An exceptional speaker, Carla has presented workshops and webinars on dreams, grief, healing, and after-death phenomena since 2002, and is a sought after presenter at national conferences such as the Compassionate Friends and Bereaved Parents of the USA. Carla is also the former editor-in-chief/columnist for Living with Loss Magazine. Carla is a Certified Dream Work Facilitator through the Marin Institute for Projective Dream Work with director, Dr. Jeremy Taylor. As a dream worker, Carla believes that "all dreams come to us in service of health and wholeness and only the dreamer knows for certain what his/her dream means."* (*Jeremy Taylor) Using the projective format, we share our "imagined version" of the dream offering the dreamer another perspective to see it differently leaving the analysis and interpretation to the dreamer. Carla says, "Sharing our dreams is an opportunity to see our life journey and our grief journey from a different perspective. With each insight, we can examine the diverse issues that complicate living with loss, illuminating the imagery from the inner world to manifest creative solutions in the outer world." Weaving the values of spirituality with personal loss and transition for psychological and spiritual growth, Carla invites the dream images to speak their truth, thus creating a space for grace to nourish...and Love to flourish. Carla lives and dreams in beautiful southwestern Colorado with her family. Kevin continues to be her spiritual coach, inspiring and guiding Carla on this incredible journey. Visit www.dreamingkevin.