Author Q&A: Jeffrey Zaslow

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THE MAGIC ROOM

A STORY ABOUT THE LOVE WE WISH FOR OUR DAUGHTERS

By Jeffrey Zaslow

Gotham, 285 pages, $27

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Updated: February 16, 2012 8:01AM

Best-selling author Jeffrey Zaslow is back, this time in a bridal salon. The father of three daughters, Zaslow investigates what happens to women of the marrying age in The Magic Room: A Story About the Love We Wish for Our Daughters (Gotham, $27). He took dozens of trips to Becker’s Bridal, a salon that has operated in Fowler, Mich., since 1934. Zaslow, who zeroed in on eight brides-to-be, even formed an opinion on strapless gowns in the process.

Q. So, tell me how you became interested in this bridal salon in rural Michigan?

A. I have three daughters, and I wanted to talk about our love of daughters. I thought of maternity wards and daddy/daughter dances, but my wife suggested a bridal salon. There’s something about a wedding dress, she said. And then I found Becker’s, only 100 miles from my house.

Q. What did you find that surprised you about brides and their parents?

A. I would have thought there was a lot of commerce going on, which there was, but it’s also so heavy with emotions that I didn’t expect. It’s the culmination for the bride-to-be on that pedestal in “the magic room” (where floor-to-ceiling mirrors on every wall carry the bride’s image to infinity). I saw bickering and unhappiness, but I also saw love.

Q. What criteria did you use to choose the eight brides-to-be you profiled?

A. I just wanted a diverse group. And I wanted them to be married in a few months. I looked at 100 brides, but it wasn’t hard to pick the eight. They each had compelling stories. I wouldn’t have minded a gay couple, but they never came along.

Q. Do you see your three still unmarried daughters (ages 22, 20 and 16) shopping there someday?

A. That’s the only place I’ll take them! I saw everything, including the feelings I’ll have. I can also see them arguing with my wife over the dress. You don’t want to push them into getting married, but if my daughters get married, I learned a lot that will be helpful.

Q. Do you look at your daughters differently now that you’ve done this book?

A. I’m close to them, but I feel closer now after spending time talking to these women about their lives. I saw the inner life of young women and that was helpful, because I can now understand their challenges. They’re nervous about who they are. We baby boomers knew all the answers. Young people today have no clear answer.

Q. Don’t you think a lot of the weddings today are way over the top?

A. Until the ’50s, it was not the bride’s reality show. It was a family event. That changed, and it suddenly became about the bride. We’re a culture that doesn’t have a lot of pageantry, so we’re clinging to this wedding thing.

Q. Did you get invited to any weddings out of this book?

A. I did! I missed a couple, but I went to all of the rest. That was very moving to me to watch the women from walking into the store to walking down the aisle.

Q. Doesn’t it sadden you that half of the brides you saw will eventually be divorced?

A. I was very aware of that, but I hope the brides I chose will be less likely to divorce. But I saw so many very young brides.

Q. After all your visits and research, do you have a preference in wedding dresses? I mean, not for you but ...

A. Very few brides look good in a strapless gown, but they all wanted strapless. I’m a man. I described the dresses, but I couldn’t tell you anything about them. I have no preference, really.

Q. Brides aside, you’ve co-authored books with several inspirational Americans, most recently with Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was critically injured in an assassination attempt in January [2011], and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly. How is she doing?

A. Gabby is doing very well. She continues to improve. She still spends 40 hours a week in four kinds of therapy: physical, occupational, speech and music. She’d like to return to Congress, and as Mark says, “She knows that therapy is her only way back.” She’ll decide by May.

Gannett News Service