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A review by probablyreadingromance
Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
This book took me a while to read because I needed to process this absolutely beautifully honest, yet absolutely horrific story. Jill and Dericks strength is immeasurable. I have never angry highlighted or cheered on someone so much. The revelations and honesty is this book was the bravest thing I’ve read yet. I was shocked, disgusted, and absolutely losing my sh*t all at the same time. I have so many thoughts on this book, but I just wanted to put that out there first.
The fact of the matter is that if Pops cared enough about his daughters or his family, he would have reported Josh when he found out about the abuse/all the nasty sh*t Josh was doing behind closed doors in the beginning. He wouldn’t have sent him off to a boys camp and let manual labor “deal with his demons.” If Josh had been reported earlier, less people would have been hurt in the long run. That’s not to discount Jill’s pain at the hands of her own brother, but any father would have reported him. Let the show be cancelled. It wouldn’t and shouldn’t have mattered. The fact that Pops CONSTANTLY sided with Josh after he knew everything made my skin crawl (see highlights). “Well he’s just a man and a man can’t control his urges” …right. I felt so angry for Jill and all his other victims during this book.
The money??? Are you kidding me? It felt like Pops just wanted the checks for himself and exploited his own children for said checks. When Jill would put her feelings out there and let her dad know how she was feeling, he would just jump right back into “what about the show?” There were several times (see highlights) that he knew family members (specifically Jill) were uncomfortable being in front of the camera and he guilts her into doing it.
The double standards between his female and male children was insane?! The boys could go on bachelor trips but the women couldn’t even dance??
He just was very manipulative, and narcissistic in this book.
There’s so much more I want to say, but this review would be 3 pages long.
I applaud Jill and Derick for their strength it took to write this. Thank you for sharing your truth.
The fact of the matter is that if Pops cared enough about his daughters or his family, he would have reported Josh when he found out about the abuse/all the nasty sh*t Josh was doing behind closed doors in the beginning. He wouldn’t have sent him off to a boys camp and let manual labor “deal with his demons.” If Josh had been reported earlier, less people would have been hurt in the long run. That’s not to discount Jill’s pain at the hands of her own brother, but any father would have reported him. Let the show be cancelled. It wouldn’t and shouldn’t have mattered. The fact that Pops CONSTANTLY sided with Josh after he knew everything made my skin crawl (see highlights). “Well he’s just a man and a man can’t control his urges” …right. I felt so angry for Jill and all his other victims during this book.
The money??? Are you kidding me? It felt like Pops just wanted the checks for himself and exploited his own children for said checks. When Jill would put her feelings out there and let her dad know how she was feeling, he would just jump right back into “what about the show?” There were several times (see highlights) that he knew family members (specifically Jill) were uncomfortable being in front of the camera and he guilts her into doing it.
The double standards between his female and male children was insane?! The boys could go on bachelor trips but the women couldn’t even dance??
He just was very manipulative, and narcissistic in this book.
There’s so much more I want to say, but this review would be 3 pages long.
I applaud Jill and Derick for their strength it took to write this. Thank you for sharing your truth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Emotional abuse