Dream A Little Dream, by Piers Anthony and Julie Brady (prose fantasy, 1999)

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“Sometimes there are births. When an Earthling human believes so strongly in a living, nonliving or otherwise fantastic creature that he sees in his dreams, that creature is born from the river. These Earthlings are called Creators. If the Creator of the creature ceases to believe or forgets, then the creature will no longer exist and it will be as if he had never been."

Blurb: A suicidal young lucid dreamer joins forces with her dream man, two winged telepathic unicorns, and another lucid dreamer to save the Earth's dreamworld from destruction. Based on Julie Brady's own long-running lucid dreams.

Why is it worth your time?: For most people, it isn't. If you want a plural story that really takes advantage of the dream setting, watch Paprika. As a fantasy novel, Dream a Little Dream is not very good--simultaneously grimdark and schmaltzy, with a dragging plot, and the Piers Anthony trademarks of boobs and vampery. That said, it may scratch your id for escapist fantasy about the power of dreams and fantasy to help someone survive a brutal reality, and it's of historical interest as Julie Brady's dream diary.

Plural Tags: dreamfolk, in-system romance, imaginary friends, otherworld, creator speaks from experience, abuse intermediate focus

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; in comments below

Access Notes: Available in paper, ebook and audio book forms.

Misc Notes: In the Author's Notes, Anthony writes, "An aspect of [Julie's] mundane [real-life] existence is in Nola [the main character], just as her dream existence is in Kafka [the setting of Dream a Little Dream]. Julie has the talent of lucid dreaming--that is, knowing and controlling one's dreams. This story took form gradually as she recorded those dreams. When it was ready, I took it over and reworked it into a formal novel. As with all of these collaborations, the story is the collaborator's; I merely do what is necessary to make it presentable."

Brady herself says, "I enjoyed writing this book, which, incidentally, was taken from a serial dream of mine over the course of a year or so. I used the serial dreams I had to escape the horrors of my life. [...] At first, the idea of publishing my journal seemed crazy. I don't consider myself a writer [...[ The main thing that appealed to me was to share what I had seen in my sleep with you. The idea of my dreams living in print thrills me no end and is as close as I may ever get to an achievement I could be proud of."

Inception, directed by Christopher Nolan (thriller movie, 2010)

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“If you're going to perform inception, you need imagination. You need the simplest version of the idea-the one that will grow naturally in the subject's mind. Subtle art.”

Blurb: A washed-up old dream thief pulls together a heist crew to pull off one last perfect crime: to break into a man's subconscious and, instead of stealing something, leave an idea behind. But what heist ever goes perfectly? And the thief in charge has his own inner demons...

Why is it worth your time?: As a heist movie with stunning visuals, this movie is very good. There's a reason it won a bunch of special effects awards and spawned such a big fandom. Keep your expectations to "great brain robbery" and you'll have a blast. As a deep look or explorations of dreams, self, and the psyche, it's much less satisfying than Paprika, which inspired this movie.

Plural Tags: dreamfolk, otherworld, nonswitching, introjects, the dead

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Accessibility Notes: available with subtitles, on DVD, and streaming.

The Flock, by Joan Frances Casey (memoir prose, 1991)

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"This book is many things. It is the story of a child who was badly hurt, but survived. It is the story of a young woman who had many personalities and became one. It is the story of how one therapist treated one patient. Most of all, however, it is the story of people who found each other at the right moment in their lives and performed magic."

Blurb: The Flock's autobio, mixed with their therapist's notes, about discovering they're multiple, cooperating, and integrating.

Why is it worth your time?: By MPD memoir standards, it is much lighter on the trauma talk, focusing more on daily life, and because there is a section where the system describes forming a government and living cooperatively... right before they integrate and the book ends. It was one of our favorites as wee baby multis, and you might be able to glean a little from it. It still has a really, SUPER-codependent reparenting relationship between the Flock, their therapist, and her husband, though.

Plural Tags: MPD/DID, switching, integration, inner children, abuse intermediate-focus

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Available in ebook and paper forms.

When Rabbit Howls, by the Troops for Truddi Chase (memoir prose, 1987)

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“I saw a multiple killed once. Not in the strict sense of the word, of course. Her therapist did it. [...] Her psychiatrist tried his damnedest to force her—them, her other selves, to integrate. He wanted to see one 'wellrounded, whole' person. I think in many ways the fragmented aspect of MPD scared the hell out of him, especially when he saw things he couldn’t comprehend, ideas he couldn’t have conceived himself in a million years. There was so much beauty unfolding in that woman, and she had such a long way to go—her people getting to know each other fully, exploring themselves and her, showing their wares, if you will. They never had a chance.”

Blurb: The Troops' autobio about their trauma history, their system function, and trying to get their act together and go public to help fight abuse.

Why is it worth your time?: There's a reason that this book still seems to be remembered comparatively fondly, while most other old MPD memoirs are not. The Troops originated a good number of terms and ideas that multiples online use today. They were notable for fighting integration adamantly, instead preferring to work cooperatively, and while their book is incoherent and hard to read, it's worth it. They are also one of the larger systems to have written one of these books; their system was of roughly a hundred, and they go in-depth about their system landscape, functioning, and roles, which are a bit different than the smaller systems in prior books.

Plural Tags: MPD/DID, switching, memory work, otherworld, abuse high-focus

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Available in paper and ebook formats.

Insert Title Here #1, by halfbakeddozen (genrebender zine, 2022)

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"It has arrived! It does not remember how it got here..."

Blurb: A new being has arrived! It does not remember how it got here, and maybe that is okay.

Why is it worth your time?: Itch.io seems to be a font of genrebending, mediumbending, bleeding-edge plural work, of which this is just one example. It's short and free, and embraces ambiguity and not knowing, which I think is something every plural could use now and again.

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned

Content Warnings: none; trauma vaguely implied

Access Notes: Available for free on itch.io. Read it here! acorn_squash  has also generously created a text-only transcript, with halfbakeddozen's permission!

Misc. Notes: Cataloger's note: contacted halfbakeddozen 10/16/2024 and they have stated the work is not available for download or back-up.