It’s been a turbulent few years for the Duggar family, who were made famous on the TLC reality show 19 Kids and Counting. Rifts have been formed since Josh Duggar, the oldest son of Jim Bob and Michelle, began serving his prison sentence after being found guilty on two child pornography charges in late 2021. Now, sibling Jinger Duggar is sharing her thoughts on her brother’s incarceration in a new book, Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear, in which she wrote candidly about their conservative Christian upbringing and how Josh was “living a lie.”
JInger Duggar, the sixth child of the reality family, was featured on TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting, as well as Counting On, which she starred in with her sisters Jessa, Jill and Joy-Anna, at least before the reality show was axed amid Josh Duggar’s legal battle. In her newest book, Jinger Duggar Vuolo compared her brother’s actions to those of disgraced pastor Bill Gothard, the founder of the Institute in Basic Life Principles, writing (via ET):
[Josh] used his platform, and even his job at the Family Research Council, to promote some of the same ideas Gothard taught. But while he looked the part in so many ways, the true Josh appears to be much different. He was living a lie. Even though he claimed to follow Jesus, his actions gave no evidence of a true love for the Lord, a heart changed by the gospel.
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar raised their children under the teachings of Bill Gothard, which included the modest dress code that some of their daughters have espoused over the years, to the apparent dismay of their parents. The IBLP also promotes having large families and male dominance over women. However, Gothard resigned from the institute in 2014, following more than 30 sexual harassment claims from former employees.
While Jinger Duggar is open about her feelings concerning Josh Duggar’s mistakes, she said in Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear that the book isn’t a tell-all about her family, but rather an exploration of her own journey, as she continues to distance herself from Bill Gothard’s teachings.
We've seen some of the steps Jinger Duggar has taken to that end in the past few years. In addition to moving from Arkansas to Los Angeles with her husband Jeremy Vuolo and their two children, Jinger has added pants — and even shorts — to her wardrobe.
In her book Jinger Duggar revealed how she felt about Josh Duggar, despite not having spoken to him for almost two years. She wrote:
Though I haven’t seen or spoken to Josh in nearly two years, I still pray for him. I ask God to show Josh his desperate need for repentance. I want my brother to be genuine and honest about his sin and reject the hypocrisy that has been part of his life for so long.
Josh Duggar was sentenced in 2022 to 151 months in prison, before his release date was shifted to 10 years out. Now Duggar is expected to be released August 12, 2032, if what is currently on the books holds up. That won’t be the end of the matter, however, as the former 19 Kids and Counting star will still be on probation for 20 years.
Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear, which is available now, is Jinger Duggar’s third book. She previously co-wrote Growing Up Duggar with her sisters Jana, Jill, and Jessa, which was published in 2014, as well as 2021’s The Hope We Hold: Finding Peace with the Promises of God, which she co-wrote with her husband Jeremy Vuolo.
