Counting the Cost

Jill Duggar is the author and narrator of Counting the Cost. She was born in Tontitown, Arkansas, in 1991 and is the fourth-oldest Duggar child. In her memoir, Jill details her experiences growing up in the Duggar family with her parents and 18 siblings as well as the impact that the family’s involvement in the reality show 19 Kids and Counting had on her. Growing up in a fundamentalist Christian family, Jill is aware that her life is vastly different from many Americans’. Her family follows the teachings of Bill Gothard and his fundamentalist ministry, IBLP. In line with these teachings, Jill and her siblings are homeschooled, required to dress and behave modestly, and expected to submit to the authority of their parents, especially their father. Jill is not taught Critical Thinking and Independence; she is taught to follow the rules. She knows little about the world outside her family and is not allowed to spend time with boys unless she is chaperoned by a trustworthy adult. The Duggars’ unusual way of life is broadcast in documentaries and reality TV shows starting when Jill is a preteen. 

Throughout her memoir, she unpacks the challenges of her upbringing.