Helen Martin’s Blog

When author, Susan Meissner, posed the question to herself, “What kind of a person would open a used wedding dress shop to give lovely dresses a second chance,” she immediately had the beginnings of her book, Blue Heart Blessed, and her main character, Daisy, in mind. Daisy is clever, funny, and dear. She is also a jilted bride, who was told by her fiance just 10 days before their beautifully planned wedding that he couldn’t marry her. Six months later, her custom-made wedding dress becomes the first piece of inventory at her shop, but she can’t seem to part with it, finding an excuse not to sell it whenever anyone shows interest in it.

To give “something blue” to the brides-to-be, and to signify a fresh start for the gowns she sells, Daisy sews a little blue satin heart on the inside of each one. But first, Father Laurent, a retired Episcopal priest and Daisy’s friend, confidant, and spiritual advisor, says a blessing over each of the hearts. The blessing take the form of a simple prayer—each unique and heartfelt—for the woman who will wear the dress; anyone on the verge of a new life would want such a blessing prayed over them.

Meissner, a former Minnesotan, uses Uptown in Minneapolis is the setting for Daisy’s shop, and a few other Minneapolis landmarks are her favorite haunts. It was fun to read about where I lived and used to hang out in my twenties; where I thought was the coolest place in the world to live. After reading the book I want to head to Sebastian Joe’s ice cream shop on Franklin at Hennepin (it’s still there!) which is where I imagine Daisy’s favorite gelato shop to be located.

The characters are interesting and authentic, and their dialogue believable. The story is told from Daisy’s point of view and since she esteems those around her, so do we. The one or two people she is not so crazy about, we empathize with, or at least pity. Susan Meissner deftly bestows upon each one what would be their God-given value were they real people.

And she wisely lets the faith of those of her characters who have it speak for itself naturally; thus she avoids out-of-place or artificial witnessing at her readers, while still telling the truth. We see Daisy sincerely trying to get over her disappointed engagement and in the story, God is the driving force behind that process. At times she is sincerely confused, and now and then feels a little side-tracked, in her progress. We don’t know if her quirky friend Max, her blind-date (the perfectly fine guy) Maxwell Mitchell (or was it Mitchell Maxwell?), or even Ramsey, Father Laurent’s heart-broken and somewhat “Mr. Darcy-like” divorced son—or none of the above—are going to help heal her heart, but it is clear that there is a Love above all other loves that wants to, and will make her whole again; romance (or the lack thereof) notwithstanding.