Searching for a short story from This American Life

June 14, 2005 7:39 AM

I'm searching for a short story from This American Life. It was read at the end of the show and is probably 2 or 3 years old. The story was about a little boy with a superpower of finding lost objects who, at the end of the story, focused the power on himself and discovered that he, too, had strayed from his rightful place.
posted by By The Grace of God to Writing & Language (6 answers total)

Best answer: I'm not sure how many episodes of This American Life end with stories about lost items, but this was one of them, though it doesn't really match what you are looking for, but I think this one does, maybe?
posted by jessamyn at 7:50 AM on June 14, 2005

Sounds like an Aimee Bender story they had a while back. Yeah, Jessamyn has it.
posted by matildaben at 8:07 AM on June 14, 2005

It is Loser By Aimee Bender (#2 on Crimebusters & Crossed Wires: Stories From TAL).

A boy develops the power to find lost objects and solve crimes, but it doesn't seem to get him very far in the world.
posted by mlis at 8:23 AM on June 14, 2005

that was on XM the other day.. great story.
posted by joshgray at 9:37 AM on June 14, 2005

mmm...get the whole collection. The Girl in the Flammable Skirt is quite possibly the best collection of short stories I've ever read.
posted by muddgirl at 9:53 AM on June 14, 2005

not directly related, but The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem has a similar theme (kids, superpowers and a failure to enhance their lives with them) and is an awesome read...
posted by gregariousrecluse at 10:55 AM on June 14, 2005