The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Kenan, Randall. If I Had Two Wings. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2020.

Randall Kenan's If I Had Two Wings is a collection of 10 short stories.

In "When We All Get to Heaven," Ed Phelps takes a trip to New York City. While wandering Manhattan alone, he tries convincing himself he is happy with his life. A chance encounter with a pop star, however, upsets his sense of self. When the idol asks him to play guitar, Ed is immediately transported into his childhood. For the rest of the day, he considers who he is, and how his buried past has shaped the man he has become.

In "I Thought I Heard the Shuffle of Angels' Feet," when the car Cicero has inherited from his late husband dies on the side of the highway, he is shocked to see his former high school lover, Tony, answer his call for roadside assistance. He accepts Tony's offer to spend the night in Tims Creek, the town of his boyhood. The two talk for hours, reminiscing. Their conversations, and shared night of intimacy, lead Cicero to reconsider his plans to sell the family land.

In "The Eternal Glory That Is Ham Hocks," the unnamed narrator learns that Howard Hughes once asked his mother to cook for him. Shocked by the revelation, the narrator insists his mother tell him more. Hearing how determined Hughes was to hire his mother, the narrator realizes that his love for food and cooking was inspired by his kinswomen's shared passion.

In "Ain't No Sunshine," after years of ignoring his wife's sloppy affair with J.C. Stokes, Rus is disgusted. So when he happens to encounter J.C. in the local IGA parking lot, he impulsively whips the man with his belt. The outburst initially empowers Rus, making him realize how much he has let J.C. take advantage of him. However, when Rus sees all the people watching the attack, he feels guilty. Desperate to confess, he drives to the police station, and tells the sheriff the whole story. The sheriff promises not to report Rus.

In "Ezekiel Saw the Wheel," after Gloria Brown dreams that her daughter, Tamar, has died in a helicopter crash, she cannot stop worrying. On the eve of Tamar's departure for another military tours overseas, Gloria becomes convinced that the dream is a prediction of the future. As a last resort, she turns to prayer, and finds comfort.

In "Mamiwata," 14-year-old Amanda wanders away from home and encounters a mysterious naked man in the river. When the man refuses to identify himself or to exit the snake-ridden water, Amanda gives up and returns home. That night she dreams about the man. Desperate to understand who she is, she returns to the river. This time he gives her an enormous catfish. When her family sees, they insist the man is a gift from the gods sent to protect them.

In "Resurrection Hardware or, Lard & Promises," after Randall's partner Siddiq leaves on an extended trip, Randall worries he will never return. These anxieties are coupled with his repeated ghost sightings, and his college friends' impending visit. This network of concerns leads Randall into a prolonged state of remembrance and reflection. Ultimately, he makes peace with the ghosts, and reconciles himself with his ancestral and personal past.

In "The Acts of Velmajean Swearington Hoyt and the New City of God," Velmajean encounters a mysterious man in the supermarket parking lot. Afterwards she is blessed with miraculous capabilities. She resurrects a girl from the dead, and later feeds thousands of people with a tiny supply of food. When the community discovers the truth of Velmajean's gift, they storm and surround her house. One day, a protestor who looks remarkably like the parking lot stranger, tries shooting Velmajean, cursing her for attributing her gift to God.

In "Now Why Come That Is?", a wild hog has been haunting Percy for weeks. Though he initially dismissed the hog's presence, his family and friends' refusal to authenticate its existence starts to unsettle him. As a last resort he visits the local witch, Miss Tabitha. He normally resists associating with her, not only because he disbelieves in her powers, but because he and his father are responsible for killing and robbing her family for their land. When Miss Tabitha refuses to help him, Percy leaves angry. The next day, he almost kills the hog with a gun. However, at the pinnacle moment, he looks the hog in the eyes and feels ashamed. The hog disappears and Percy breaks down, finally acknowledging his family's destructive impact on the community.

In "God's Gonna Trouble the Water or, Where Is Marisol?", while vacationing in Barbados Mrs. Streeter's hometown is hit by a storm. Against her family's wishes, she returns to the ravaged Tims Creek, delighted to discover that her home is intact. In the coming weeks she starts worrying that her housekeeper, Marisol, and her daughters have failed to resurface. Yet when she learns that Marisol's daughter died in the storm, and after returning to Mexico she and the rest of her family were kidnapped, Mrs. Streeter appears unmoved.