The following statement would probably make any Medill professor cringe: The National Enquirer is true gumshoe journalism. And don’t tell Shari Goldhagen, Medill ’98, any differently. The alumnus worked at the famed (term used generally) tabloid for a stint after receiving her MFA in creative writing from Ohio State. But throughout her time at Northwestern, Ohio State, The Enquirer and other magazines, Goldhagen developed an idea for a book. And more than 10 years after arriving at NU, the book – Family and Other Accidents – was published April 4. It chronicles 25 years in the lives of two brothers who grow up in a suburb of Cleveland.

Goldhagen spoke to PLAY via phone from her apartment in New York City about writing, the Midwest and why The National Enquirer is the only place she’s ever used the skills she learned in Medill.

PLAY: Why did you choose to write about brothers?

Shari Goldhagen: When I was in college I would write a lot of first-person womens’ stories. I wanted to try to get away from that, not because I think there’s anything wrong with that type of writing, but because I found myself kind of limited by that. I felt like I was making assumptions, so I thought if I wrote about men, I would have to rethink things a bit. It was a challenge for me, but it ended up working out better for me because the book is stronger than a lot of those stories I wrote when I was younger.

PLAY: The book is filled with references to things people from Ohio would pick up on. How much of that was directed specifically for people from Ohio?

SG: I grew up in the Midwest, so I felt like that was my frame of reference. It’s familiar to me, and I know people who have had similar experiences growing up in the Midwest. Obviously, I was trying to write about people who weren’t me, but you kind of always bring your experience to your writing.

PLAY: How strong is the family tie?

SG: In the book and in life the thing about your family is that it’s a strong tie, but it’s also accidental because you have nothing to do with it. You’re thrown into this group of people who you’re required to love. And your family is great in a lot of ways. So, it’s a strong bond, but it’s fragile, too, if that makes sense. I always used to think of that when I was in school. Like, it’s so weird that I ended up here as opposed to some village in Africa.

PLAY: One of your characters, the reporter, Mona, was really interesting. There’s a great passage where she thinks about what she’ll say if she wins the Pulitzer Prize, and that’s something Medill students think about. Did you put any of yourself in her?

SG: I think that section where she’s having those thoughts – that’s all stuff I’ve thought of. You know, how you would accept your Oscar speech. I think I brought a lot of my own experience into that. It’s a very real Medill thing to be thinking about what you’re going to say when you win the Pulitzer.

PLAY: But your biography says you’ve been stalking celebrities?

SG: After I went to grad school, I moved to New York, but I really didn’t have a job. The economy was really bad. I went to this magazine job fair, but the only places that were hiring were the tabloids. It wasn’t like I wanted to do that, but I ended up working at The National Enquirer for a couple of years. Then, I worked for Life and Style and Celebrity Living. A lot of the writing was undercover reporting, and it’s funny because I had other reporting jobs, like on my teaching newspaper, and I worked so much harder at the Enquirer than anywhere. You’re trying to get information that people don’t want to give you. I always defend the Enquirer to anyone. It was really the only time I’ve used anything I learned in journalism school.

PLAY: So what are you doing now?

SG: Well, I was on a book tour for a couple of weeks and I just got back. I’ve been doing some freelance work, but really now I’m just working on another book.

PLAY: Any clue as to when it’s coming out?

SG: No, but I’m working on it. Right now, I kind of just watch a lot of Justice League. I’ve decided that’s what I want to do – write for Justice League. But I don’t really know how to do that yet.