In an interview with People magazine published Monday, Duggar Vuolo confirmed that she was approached and asked to appear in the Prime Video docuseries “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets,” but opted to release her memoir, “Becoming Free Indeed,” instead.
Duggar Vuolo’s third book details her experiences growing up in a fundamentalist Christian family with connections to the Institute in Basic Life Principles, a religious organization known for promoting the submission of women and girls under absolute male authority. She is the sixth child of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, whose family rose to prominence on the TLC reality series “19 Kids and Counting” and its short-lived spinoff “Counting On,” the latter of which excluded her brother Josh Duggar, who was convicted in 2021 on child pornography charges.
“I really wanted to make sure that I was able to share my story in my own words and in my own timing,” Duggar Vuolo, 29, told People.
“That’s why I wrote ‘Becoming Free Indeed’ … to share more of my journey out of IBLP’s teachings. I wanted to be able to share it in a way that was, like, God-honoring and hopefully sharing my story in a balanced way.”
In her memoir, Duggar Vuolo recalls how she was forced to obey modesty guidelines, submit completely to her parents and other authority figures, adhere to strict premarital protocols and refrain from listening to certain kinds of music.
“I thought, ‘I want this to be my story in a book form because then whenever people are trying to work through this stuff, they can go back and highlight,’ and [go], ‘Oh, she was struggling with this too. This is how Jinger kind of walked through it,’” Duggar Vuolo said.
The Duggar family has not only come under scrutiny for its fealty to the IBLP.
“19 Kids and Counting” was canceled in 2015 after Josh Duggar was accused of molesting four of his younger sisters as a teen. In 2021, he was arrested on child pornography charges, convicted and sentenced in 2022 to 12½ years in prison.
One of Josh Duggar’s sisters and alleged victims, Jill Dillard (formerly Jill Duggar), has spoken out about the abuse she allegedly suffered. The 32-year-old author claims in “Shiny Happy People” that she never received compensation for “19 Kids and Counting” or “Counting On” — even after she turned 18.
Duggar Vuolo no longer abides by her family’s stringent religious customs and beliefs. She moved from Arkansas to Texas to Los Angeles after wedding pastor and former professional soccer player Jeremy Vuolo in 2016. They share two daughters: Felicity, 4, and Evangeline, 2.
Duggar Vuolo told People she did not “feel strong enough” to talk about her experiences publicly until she thought about others in her community who grew up under similar circumstances.
“I thought, how can I best communicate this journey I’ve been on with not only the people that watch the show but, more importantly, those I grew up with?” she added.
In February, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar issued a statement saying they don’t agree with everything the IBLP preaches but have adopted some “life-changing Biblical principles” from the institution that have “helped … deepen” their relationship with God.
Times staff writers Meredith Blake and Nardine Saad contributed to this report.