Children of God Go Bowling — Shannon Olson

We first met Shannon Olson -- our semifictional heroine -- in the witty and engaging Welcome to My Planet. Now, in Children of God Go Bowling, Shannon is in her mid-thirties and besieged by reminders that her life doesn't look much like the American Dream. While her friends fill their fish tanks and shop for living room sets, Shannon embarks upon a campaign to make room for her own future. She joins group therapy, accepts blind dates, and even gives organized religion a go. But surprises await her, and from some unlikely sources. With encore performances by Flo (called one of the great moms of American fiction" by Garrison Keillor), this is the hilarious tale of a woman making her life happen when it didn't quite happen for her.