Dreaming for Two: The Hidden Emotional Life of Expectant Mothers [Hardcover]

Sindy Greenberg (Author), Elyse Kroll (Author), Hillary Grill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 29, 2002

The brainchild of three women-a journalist, a magazine editor, and a practicing psychotherapist-Dreaming for Two explores the significance of dreams on the expectant mother.

Filled with a wide-ranging collection of women's real-life dreams, this one-of-a-kind book analyzes the unconscious motivation behind the vivid, frequently intense visions experienced by expectant mothers. From dreams about their changing sense of identity to dreams about evolving relationships with family, friends, and their unborn child, Dreaming for Two helps pregnant women understand what dreams tell them about their deepest hopes and fears about their imminent motherhood.

According to Hillary Grill, a practicing psychotherapist, the physiological, emotional, and psychological transformations that take place during pregnancy play a major role in a woman's dream state. During this time marked by heightened sensitivity and widely varied emotions, these images can provide an important key to an expectant mother's state of mind and inner feelings. As they develop the tools to examine their dreams, expectant mothers discover new ways to cope with the enormous changes pregnancy brings, and to confront concerns about everything from giving birth to whether or not they will be effective mothers.

Dreaming for Two is a fascinating, accessible book that belongs on every expecting mother's bookshelf.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Authors Greenberg, Kroll and Grill (a journalist, editor and psychotherapist, respectively) have combined efforts to explore a fertile topic the unconscious dreams of pregnant women. While books abound on the subject of physical changes experienced during pregnancy, the literature on the emotional aspects is scanty, and this book adds to a growing awareness that becoming a mother is an emotional evolution for each and every woman. The authors maintain that while dreams are personal and unique, during pregnancy dreams may be characterized by common themes, which allow the pregnant woman to confront her deepest feelings and fears. The authors present a number of dreams garnered from mothers-to-be, along with their interpretations. They divide chapters into issues that frequently haunt the dreams of pregnant women, including identity crisis, ambivalence, career concerns, dependency issues and relationships. While many of the dreams included here are compelling (and some are vastly amusing) readers may crave more specific guidance on how to interpret their own dreams. Others, however, may be able to identify with the themes the authors explore and develop their own ways to unravel the messages found in their nocturnal reveries. This is a unique book that confronts emotional issues so often overshadowed by the physical aspects of pregnancy and probes the ambivalence and fear that invariably accompanies the joy and pleasure of motherhood.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Sindy Greenberg is a journalist who was written for The New York Times, The New York Observer, and Gourmet, among other publications.

Hillary Grill, M.S.W., is a practicing psychotherapist.

Elyse Kroll is the senior crafts editor at Martha Stewart Living.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult (April 29, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525946551
• ISBN-13: 978-0525946557
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,351,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Relevant and entertaining, May 22, 2002

By 

Steven Kuchuck (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dreaming for Two: The Hidden Emotional Life of Expectant Mothers (Hardcover)

This insightful and accessible book will be valuable for both lay people and mental health/medical professionals. The authors managed to produce a work that is both clinically sound and entertaining. The book clearly and accurately explains this complex stage of development-approaching motherhood-and provides dream analysis that can help any mother-to-be navigate this unique time of life. I have already found this to be useful in my psychotherapy practice when I work with pregnant patients, and in one case in particular, in my work with a father-to-be as he tries to understand some of what his wife is going through. I anticipate that Dreaming for Two will be useful in my work as a supervisor and teacher as well. Clearly explained, well documented and often fascinating case examples are used to illustrate some complex tasks of adult personality development and dream interpretation.
On a more personal note, I also hope to have the opportunity to give this book as a gift to friends and family members during their pregnancies.

3.0 out of 5 stars Unique book on dreams during pregnancy, October 30, 2009

By 

J. Masi "Winky Dink" (San Diego) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dreaming for Two: The Hidden Emotional Life of Expectant Mothers (Hardcover)

This book is one of a kind as far as I know - I'm not aware of another book that covers the dreams of expectant mothers. So if you're a mum-to-be, and you have smme strange dreams, as my wife did, you'll be able to relate and put your dreams in some context.

One thing I'll say that is disappointing is that when my wife was pregnant in 1999/2000, while we lived in Brooklyn Heights, she was interviewed by one of the authors, Sindy Greenberg, about her dream (the one about carrying the chocolate eggg with the baby in it) for this book. Sindy promised she'd send a book after it was published.

After the book came out my wife contacted Ms Greenberg and asked to have a copy sent to her. No copy was ever sent. My wife had to buy her own copy of the book whose content she provided in part. Shame on you, Sindy.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Shower Gift!, November 30, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Dreaming for Two: The Hidden Emotional Life of Expectant Mothers (Hardcover)

It's so reassuring to have read a book that addresses the surreal and oft ambivalent inner lives of pregant women. Since Herodotus, dreams have provided fertile grounds for analysis as a reflection of one's waking day. So why not try to explore and understand what can't be quite so neatly explained away? One of my dearest friends gave this book to me as a shower gift, and I looked forward to curling up with it every night at bedtime. I recently gave it to a pregnant friend, and she's doing the same thing!