Dreams, Genealogy, & Creative Writing with Anna Dahlheimer Bartkowski

What can dreams reveal about our ancestors—and how can they fuel creativity, self-understanding, and better decisions? On this episode of The Dream Journal, host Katherine Bell talks with genealogist and historical fiction author Anna Dahlheimer Bartkowski about the powerful intersection of dreams, family history, and storytelling.

Anna shares how a childhood fascination with dreams grew alongside her passion for genealogy, eventually inspiring the Rosalind Schmidt genealogical novels and her guided journal, Dreams Remembered. The conversation explores dream incubation, recurring dream themes, ancestral and past-life possibilities, and the difference between using dreams for creative inspiration and using them for personal insight.

You’ll hear practical ideas for remembering and recording dreams, setting an intention before sleep, reviewing recurring symbols, and using the half-awake morning state to ask questions and discover fresh perspectives. Anna also explains how dreaming helped her work through a difficult opening for her novel Ancestral Shadows and how writers can “dream on” a creative block.

In This Episode

How dreams and genealogy became intertwined in Anna’s life

Using dreams to connect more deeply with ancestral stories

Dream journaling, dream recall, and setting intentions before sleep

How recurring themes can reveal personal change over time

Using dreams to solve creative problems and develop stories

Why personal associations matter more than fixed dream dictionaries

How parents, educators, and communities can normalize talking about dreams

Anna’s guided journal, Dreams Remembered, for seekers, writers, and genealogists