Swimming with Scapulars

Matthew Lickona is a wine connoisseur and fan of Nine Inch Nails, so he may not be the first person you would think of when it comes to people who take the Catholic life seriously. But, ironically, he is a Catholic of a decidedly traditional bent ("I believe the same things as my pious old grandmother"). He wears a scapular, a medieval talisman believed to secure God's protection. He fasts during Lent. He and his wife shun modern birth control—they waited four nights after their wedding to consummate their marriage.

In Swimming with Scapulars, we see what it's like to live a premodern faith while maintaining a postmodern sensibility. Lickona's "true confessions" are his painfully honest chronicles of his fitful starts and ongoing efforts to live a Catholic life and stay true to the faith of which he is so proud.