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“Imagine somebody who’s been disconnected from this church and he’s reignited. That fire is back, that spark is back. Imagine what that one person can do in his life. If that happens one time, the eighteen months it took to put this thing together will have been worth it.” — Jim Carlon
Jim Carlon is a lawyer, army veteran, and lifelong Catholic whose twenty-five years of practice have shaped a deep commitment to wellness in the legal profession. He founded the Fairfield County Bar Association’s Wellness Committee and serves on the board of the Care Coalition, a Westchester-based nonprofit focused on mental health. A Fairfield University grad and former JAG Corps officer, Jim is also a returning guest — his first appearance covered Conversation with a Desperate Man, a fictionalized account of his time in a psychiatric hospital. His new book, Keep the Faith: A Man’s Guide to Staying Catholic After Divorce, grew out of a simple moment: his wife Kelly’s refusal to consider anything but a Catholic framework for their wedding. That question — why is this faith non-negotiable? — became the seed of the book, especially after a string of family losses tested everything. Mike and Jim talk about the intellectual case for staying Catholic, what the annulment process actually looks like, the biggest misconceptions about divorce and the Church, and why marriage prep could use a boot-camp overhaul.
Key Takeaways:
1. Write the book you can’t find. Jim searched for a direct, practical resource for divorced Catholic men and came up empty. So he wrote one — a reminder that the best books fill a gap only the author can see.
2. Start with the why. Part one of the book gives ten reasons to remain Catholic after divorce. Jim’s logic: if the why isn’t compelling enough, nobody will stick around for the how — which is genuinely difficult.
3. The Eucharist is the intellectual anchor. Jim’s core argument is simple: if you believe in transubstantiation — the actual presence of Christ in the Eucharist — there’s no lateral move to another denomination that preserves that belief.
4. The biggest myth: you’re automatically excluded. A divorced Catholic who is single and not in another relationship can fully participate in the liturgy. Civil divorce alone does not make you more of a sinner than anyone else in the pews.
5. The annulment process is hard — by design. It takes years, requires witnesses, involves reading your ex-spouse’s file, and feels like reopening an old wound. But Jim found real healing in it: space to understand what happened spiritually and emotionally, separate from the civil proceedings.
6. Talk to a priest, not to yourself. Jim’s experience at his mother’s funeral — where a quick conversation led to confession and communion in minutes — illustrates how pastoral reality is often more welcoming than the narrative people construct in isolation.
7. Marriage prep needs more realism. Jim and Mike riff on putting engaged couples through practical stress tests — sleep deprivation, hunger, a crowded airport — instead of hypothetical “what if” discussions. The relationship between spouses must be paramount, second only to the relationship with God.
8. Grief upon grief can strengthen a marriage. Kelly and Jim lost family members almost immediately after their wedding. Three years in, they feel like they’ve lived a lifetime together — and the shared trials confirmed the partnership.
Buy Keep the Faith:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4wXx7Y9
Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/54587/9798996568604
Also by Jim Carlon:
Conversation with a Desperate Man — a fictionalized account of his stay and recovery at Silver Hill Hospital in Connecticut.
Connect with Jim:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keepthefaithrcc/
Connect with Mike:
Website: https://uncorkingastory.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uncorkingastory
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory
Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory
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