The Bad Dream Notebook - by Linda Dahl (Paperback)

About the Book

A teenaged daughter's spiral into opiate addiction after the death of a beloved father and her mother's unwitting protection of her disease lead both to hard-won insights.

Book Synopsis

John and Erica Mason-Grey are hard-working artists and loving parents--but when John dies, their teenage daughter Mona's casual drug use spirals into heroin addiction. She and her mother soon begin an anguished game of hide-and-seek leading to countless arguments, arrests, thefts, rehabs, and relapse, a recurring nightmare that seems to have no end. Ultimately, it's only when each of them finds a way to accept their new reality--Mona by taking charge of her own recovery, and Erica by focusing on her own vitality--that each experiences the unexpected joy and renewal that await those who decide to stop living in the bad dream of addiction. Unflinching about the ways the disease of addiction can torpedo a family yet leavened with dollops of humor, The Bad Dream Notebook will resonate with anyone who has lived through the agony of a loved one's drug dependency.

Review Quotes

IBPA Ben Franklin Awards Finalist in Popular Fiction "This novel details a family's experience with addiction in a way no guidebook can. It captures the rational and irrational fears, the spiral of addiction, and the tension of an ill-timed event. It is a trip through the emotional house of horrors families of an addict must contend with. But Linda Dahl also clearly understands the power of art (a painter in her story-but it could be any art form) to help heal and restore. The conclusion moved this parent to tears. I have to believe that this book is restorative not only for the reader, but also for the author."
--Bill Williams, author, educator, and Advocate of the Year for the Addiction Policy Forum 2017

"Compelling and insightful, The Bad Dream Notebook, takes readers on a powerful ride on the rollercoaster of addiction. Linda Dahl has brought to the page what so many families live through in the real world each day. For anyone who struggles with addiction, loves someone who does, or simply wants to learn about how addiction impacts families, The Bad Dream Notebook is an engaging and enlightening read that will leave you with a deeper sense of understanding and compassion."
--Lisa Smith, author of >Girl Walks Out of a Bar
The Bad Dream Notebook is an insightful, relatable and engaging story of addiction, denial and the consequences of enabling. It's a book you'll want to read more than once."
--J.A. Wright, author of How to Grow an Addict

"Life becomes a nightmare for artist Erica Grey as she struggles after her husband's death and her daughter battles drug addiction. Linda Dahl paints a vivid and compelling picture in The Bad Dream Notebook as mother and daughter wrestle demons and grief to find the road back to each other."
--Phyllis Piano, award-winning author of Hostile Takeover: A Love Story and Love Reconsidered

About the Author

Linda Dahl began writing as a freelancer about two passions, jazz and Latin America, before turning to fiction. She has written ten published books, including the novels Tiny Vices, An Upside-Down Sky, Gringa in a Strange Land, and The Bad Dream Notebook, and the nonfiction works Stormy Weather and Morning Glory. Her books have consistently garnered awards and praise, including a Notable Book of the Year nod from The New York Times Book Review for Morning Glory in 2000. Linda loves reading, swimming, music, and doing volunteer work in her community. She lives in Riverdale, New York.