Counting the Cost
by Jill Duggar
View on GoodreadsJill Duggar's memoir of growing up in the family of 19 Kids and Counting, her separation from her parents and the IBLP (Bill Gothard's Institute in Basic Life Principles) movement, and the exploitation she experienced as a televised teenager and young adult.
Core ideas
- The IBLP system is treated with specificity — Gothard's "umbrella of authority" doctrine that placed her father over every other relationship, including her marriage, into adulthood.
- The financial exploitation is concrete: years on a hit show with no compensation, controlled by parental contracts, while presenting publicly as a wholesome family business.
- The Josh Duggar revelations are handled directly — the family's response to his abuse is treated as continuous with the system, not as an exception to it.
Published2023
Pages287
ISBN9781668024447
ReadSep 2023
