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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
So boring. I'm glad I read her 2nd book 1st. It was so much better!
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Jeremy and Jinger Vuolo (nee Duggar), of course are well known in various circles for two reasons - their ties to the expansive Duggar clan as seen on TV and their religious beliefs. This book gives an inside look into how the couple grew up, met, and got married and how their faith played a part of it all.
For those who are primarily interested in reading about their lives 'behind the scenes':
There are definitely some new insights to be found within these pages. Mostly the 'new' information centers around Jeremy's life prior to meeting Jinger and the intense lengths he had to go through in order to gain Jim-Bob Duggar's approval to 'date' Jinger (who was 21 years old at the time). Spoiler detail/commentary about why they initially were not allowed to date each other:
As for new insights into Jinger's life, she does delve a little more into her background. Specifically, her trials with body image/disordered eating, and her struggles with having a true faith in God as a child. But if you're hoping for more detailed or private looks into the Duggar 'family culture' she grew up in (as they both refer to it in the book) or just more information about her other family members, you'll mostly be disappointed as both are hardly even mentioned. In particular, as I am sure a lot of people are curious about considering the recent child pornography charges that came out this past weekend, Josh Duggar is never even directly named in the book nor what he did in the past. There was just this from Jinger: "One of my siblings had made some sinful choices, but it had all been years ago. It had been awful, but we had dealt with it as a family." There's no other details given of what happened back then, only reflections on how Jinger was feeling at the time when it was all made public. As for Josh's scandal with being on the Ashley Madison website seeking an extramarital affair, it gets only a one sentence indirect mention from Jeremy: "I tried to encourage Ben as hate continued to pour out over social media, as TLC canceled the family's TV show, and as another shocking crisis hit later that summer involving one of the siblings." That's all there is on the topic of Josh. And lastly, yes, Jinger does address her decision to wear pants and goes into her grief associated with the death of her beloved Grandmother and her miscarriage. The latter two of which brought some tears to my eyes.
For those who are primarily interested in reading about their faith/religious beliefs:
The introduction and the epilogue are the only times that particularly feel like Jinger and Jeremy are actively evangelizing. Don't get me wrong, their faith is a central part of their lives and thus is mentioned frequently. But mostly it's just a part of their life story, it's not directly discussed. However, the epilogue keeps this book from simply being a memoir and changes the focus more towards what perhaps inspired the couple to write this book in the first place: "If you close this book thinking, 'Wow, what a nice couple; too bad I can't have a life like theirs,' we've failed. It our goal that you walk away inspired by what the hope of Christ has done for us, and what it can do for you too." I'm not entirely sure they achieved this goal, but pick up this book and decide for yourself.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
For those who are primarily interested in reading about their lives 'behind the scenes':
There are definitely some new insights to be found within these pages. Mostly the 'new' information centers around Jeremy's life prior to meeting Jinger and the intense lengths he had to go through in order to gain Jim-Bob Duggar's approval to 'date' Jinger (who was 21 years old at the time). Spoiler detail/commentary about why they initially were not allowed to date each other:
Spoiler
What really threw me for a loop was that Jeremy was held off by Jim-Bob from being allowed to date Jinger for FOUR MONTHS, and not because Jim-Bob was hesitant about Jeremy's intentions or because he was unsure as to whether Jeremy was a true Christian believer as you might assume. No. Instead, it was because Jim-Bob disagreed about Jeremy's specific theology beliefs. It was never specifically laid out what exactly those theology differences were beyond a passing comment of "...we disagreed on the issue of free will and predesination". However these theological differences led to Jim-Bob stopping his adult daughter from dating a man that was a pastor of a church at the time! It was also never explained how Jim-Bob eventually got over those theological differences. But it wasn't just Jim-Bob who was concerned at the time. At one point Jinger apparently broke off the 'relationship' before it even really began because she was so concerned about what everyone else thought about Jeremy's different theological beliefs.As for new insights into Jinger's life, she does delve a little more into her background. Specifically, her trials with body image/disordered eating, and her struggles with having a true faith in God as a child. But if you're hoping for more detailed or private looks into the Duggar 'family culture' she grew up in (as they both refer to it in the book) or just more information about her other family members, you'll mostly be disappointed as both are hardly even mentioned. In particular, as I am sure a lot of people are curious about considering the recent child pornography charges that came out this past weekend, Josh Duggar is never even directly named in the book nor what he did in the past. There was just this from Jinger: "One of my siblings had made some sinful choices, but it had all been years ago. It had been awful, but we had dealt with it as a family." There's no other details given of what happened back then, only reflections on how Jinger was feeling at the time when it was all made public. As for Josh's scandal with being on the Ashley Madison website seeking an extramarital affair, it gets only a one sentence indirect mention from Jeremy: "I tried to encourage Ben as hate continued to pour out over social media, as TLC canceled the family's TV show, and as another shocking crisis hit later that summer involving one of the siblings." That's all there is on the topic of Josh. And lastly, yes, Jinger does address her decision to wear pants and goes into her grief associated with the death of her beloved Grandmother and her miscarriage. The latter two of which brought some tears to my eyes.
For those who are primarily interested in reading about their faith/religious beliefs:
The introduction and the epilogue are the only times that particularly feel like Jinger and Jeremy are actively evangelizing. Don't get me wrong, their faith is a central part of their lives and thus is mentioned frequently. But mostly it's just a part of their life story, it's not directly discussed. However, the epilogue keeps this book from simply being a memoir and changes the focus more towards what perhaps inspired the couple to write this book in the first place: "If you close this book thinking, 'Wow, what a nice couple; too bad I can't have a life like theirs,' we've failed. It our goal that you walk away inspired by what the hope of Christ has done for us, and what it can do for you too." I'm not entirely sure they achieved this goal, but pick up this book and decide for yourself.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
fast-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Jeremy and Jinger Vuolo have carved out a carefully curated public image since the end of Counting On, and this is a continuation of that careful curation. I haven't seen either of the Duggar family's shows, but I'm familiar enough with the (publicly available information about the) family—my background is different enough from theirs (exception: my parents also kept the TV in a closet, which might be the only thing I have in common with the Duggars) that I find it weird but fascinating—to have a good sense here of what is 'new' information and what they're leaving out.
In short: while I'm not sure what was on the show proper, there's not that much in the book that hasn't been reported in (sold to?) various magazines. More background on Jeremy's life pre-Duggar, and a better sense of what Jinger's dating restrictions looked like. Some of it makes a bit more sense in context (when you're on national television on the regular and there are a lot of people who think fame makes a very sheltered, naïve girl desirable, it's not the worst idea to have someone else—in this case, her father—do a bit of initial screening). Some of it left me scratching my head: apparently the thing that kept Jim Bob Duggar from approving their courtship—for four months—was a disagreement about free will. Details are very vague (though I'm sure someone more Bible-literate than I am could make some inferences), so I have to guess that the Vuolos found it politic to not go into why Jeremy thinks Jim Bob is wrong and what Jinger believes.
What I found most telling, though, was this passage, from Jeremy's perspective (no page numbers because Overdrive is terrible):
So...if you're at all familiar with the brand they're building for themselves, there aren't a lot of surprises here. I don't begrudge them the decision to keep a lot of private things private (living a semi-public life should not rob you of privacy, and it feels particularly unsurprising that the various scandals brought about by Jinger's oldest sibling are discussed in only the vaguest and most fleeting of terms). I'm not sure who the target audience is here, but it's probably not me.
In short: while I'm not sure what was on the show proper, there's not that much in the book that hasn't been reported in (sold to?) various magazines. More background on Jeremy's life pre-Duggar, and a better sense of what Jinger's dating restrictions looked like. Some of it makes a bit more sense in context (when you're on national television on the regular and there are a lot of people who think fame makes a very sheltered, naïve girl desirable, it's not the worst idea to have someone else—in this case, her father—do a bit of initial screening). Some of it left me scratching my head: apparently the thing that kept Jim Bob Duggar from approving their courtship—for four months—was a disagreement about free will. Details are very vague (though I'm sure someone more Bible-literate than I am could make some inferences), so I have to guess that the Vuolos found it politic to not go into why Jeremy thinks Jim Bob is wrong and what Jinger believes.
What I found most telling, though, was this passage, from Jeremy's perspective (no page numbers because Overdrive is terrible):
"So, what does this passage mean to you?" the [Bible study] leader asked.
What does it mean to me? I didn't know what that meant. I didn't grow up asking questions like that about Scripture. God's Word is his authoritative self-revelation to the world. I had never thought to ask what it meant to me, but simply, what does it mean? Up until that point, I'd assumed that everyone understood it the same way I did. I was only twenty-two years old, certainly not the oldest or most mature person in the room, but I felt that I had to speak up.
"Well..." I said slowly, searching for the right words. "What does it actually say?"
I could feel the rest of the group staring at me. This wasn't the kind of question they were used to discussing.
I kept going. Without realizing what was happening, I was suddenly digging into the passage, explaining what it meant with an authority I didn't know I had.Read this line again: Up until that point, I'd assumed that everyone understood it the same way I did. It's telling to me, and rather sad, that the takeaway here does not seem to be 'so I started to explore what other people believed and why, whether or not my own beliefs changed' but rather 'so I used it as an opportunity to try to convince people of the beliefs that I'd never questioned'.
So...if you're at all familiar with the brand they're building for themselves, there aren't a lot of surprises here. I don't begrudge them the decision to keep a lot of private things private (living a semi-public life should not rob you of privacy, and it feels particularly unsurprising that the various scandals brought about by Jinger's oldest sibling are discussed in only the vaguest and most fleeting of terms). I'm not sure who the target audience is here, but it's probably not me.