Set in the heartland of America, "Praying to a Laughing God" is the remarkable and moving story of old friendships, new love, deeply hidden secrets, and the discovery of truths. It is about the death of dreams and the birth of hope; about a disappearing way of life and the reaffirmation of the human spirit. It is startling, provocative, and deeply compelling.

When Clark Holstrom goes each morning to open the hardware store he has operated for years on the main street of Credibull, Minnesota, he asks himself why he even bothers. What business he hasn't lost to the new Wal-Mart, his hapless...