Dream of being in a car that is out of control on a rural road, with my dogs and grandchildren in the car. Told at the National Health Service Heads of Patient Experience Storytelling Conference, 3rd March 2023.

It’s daytime and I am driving a car through a rural setting. There are green hills on both sides and green mountains in the distance. The car is travelling at speed, but there’s no noise. I have my two dogs in the car, one is a golden retriever and one is black, but they are different sizes than in waking life, each dog is the size that the other dog is in waking life. The dogs are in the back of the car and my two grandchildren are strapped into their seats in the middle of the car, they are much younger than in waking life. On the winding road the car becomes out of control, I feel paralysed, my legs won’t move to the brakes, and I am pushed back in my seat and so I do not hold the steering wheel. There is a sharp bend and the car veers off the road. It goes through a hedge and then stops, but there is no crash. Throughout the dream in the car I am calm about the situation, not at all panicking, but I am also watching myself in the car and while watching I am very frightened.