Jinger Duggar Vuolo spent the majority of her childhood living in fear.
By following these seven principles, followers were guaranteed a successful life.
After you started writing, did you ever have any hesitations about finishing it?
Yes, for sure.
I had been walking through six years of disentangling my faith from fear.
I went back and forth.
As I was writing the book, there were many days where I would just cry.
I was like, “Is this worth it?
Is this what I’m supposed to do?”
Fear is a big theme throughout the book.
Are you still afraid of how family and friends will react when they read it now?
But I know that this is what’s most helpful to speak truth.
It always is, even when it’s hard.
What was the most difficult part of the book for you to write?
All of it, really.
It’s hard to say.
Certain areas may have been more casual.
In others, I’m more vulnerable than I’ve ever been in any setting.
Did you tell your family the plans you had for this book before you started?
I have done that from the start of since I’ve been married.
Differences we’ve had, we’ve discussed and talked about.
I did share with them that I was going to be writing this book.
What was the experience like reading your book out loud?
That had to be such a different interpretation for you.
Yeah, it was for sure.
Reading aloud [was] so interesting.
I was like, “Wow.”
I felt the emotions come up when I was reading certain sections.
It’s interesting how that works.
In the acknowledgements of the book, you mention fighting off a security guard to get the cover photo.
Can you tell us this story?
[Laughs] It was really funny, actually.
The camera people were like, “I think we’re allowed to shoot here.”
He’s like, “No, I don’t think you are.
Let’s be quick, snappy.
[Laughs] It’s a place where people do photo shoots all the time.
That’s why we chose it.
Do you have regrets about writing that book?
When I was writing that book, I genuinely believed everything I was writing.
I thought that the world would benefit from these teachings of Bill Gothard.
It’s sad that I wrote that.”
I’m grateful for this opportunity to come back and, in a sense, correct what I said.
Another thing you write about is when"Counting On" was canceled.
Would you ever want to return to reality TV?
At this point, I don’t see myself returning to reality TV.
I miss the crew so bad.
They were like family to us because they were at our house multiple days a week for years.
There’s that side that I miss the friendships.
But as far as being in the public eye, it has its pros and its cons.
To show them those, yes.
or “Is that even you?”
She watched our engagement because I wanted them to see that.
I think [my husband] Jer’s parents showed them the engagement.
Felicity, our oldest, talks about it a lot.
She’s probably like, “It’s just another video.”
She’s only 4.
They’re still very young, 4 and 2, so they don’t comprehend much.
I think those conversations will happen later, the older they get.
That’s what we want to show our girls.
As far as the other stuff, they don’t understand any differences.
They’re still so young.
They’re in that mid-point age where you don’t know what they’re interpreting.
They do pick up on a lot more than we think, which is interesting.
[Laughs] We’re always like, “Oh.”
My little one would say “what the heck” all the time.
I’m like, “Oh, yeah.”
They always pick up on stuff you don’t think they will.
Yeah, like conversations that are happening they’re always listening.
[Laughs] It’s really cute.
Do you plan to homeschool them similarly to how you were?
I don’t have any plans for homeschooling throughout.
I thought about maybe the first year.
We have awesome options for school, whether that’s public school, private schools, Christian schools.
We have every single option, so I’m not planning on homeschooling throughout.
What would you say is the most misunderstood thing about you?
People have opinions on my life as a whole.
I’m like, “What the heck is that?”
I’m like, “I just chose not to brush my hair today.
Maybe you do that, too.”
That’s been a huge one.
When I’m off social media, sometimes there will be assumptions as to why.
“Oh, no!
Jinger’s going to vanish from this.”
I’m like, “No, not right now.
I’m just taking a break.”
What kinds of other stories are you still hoping to share with fans?
That’s all I want to share what is helpful.
That was one thing that I was very vulnerable about.
Writing this book in general has been so hard.
Every day, I feel the weight of knowing that so many people I still love are in it.
So this’ll probably be my last book I write, I’ve said.
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“Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear” is available now.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
