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, 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.

Interesting perspective into a relationship from the Duggar family.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when going into this book - an autobiography or a (preachy and superficial?) self-help book? It turns out it was mostly autobiographical and about decisive moments in their faith. I enjoyed it - it was an easy and fast read and I learnt some interesting things about them, especially about Jeremy.

People who follow the shows more closely might not learn that many new things, but I enjoyed learning more about Jeremy's theological views and about his and Jinger's courtship. I loved how they came to peace about their move to LA and seeing God orchestrate things with their new church. The passage about Jinger evaluating her modesty convictions was also great.

I found the writing style to be a bit lacking and not very engaging or emotional. If this book had been much longer, it would have really impacted the quality, but thanks to it being a short read I didn't mind as much.

I would have loved for Jinger and Jeremy to get a bit deeper into theology and the views they grew up with because I really enjoyed these passages.

I liked getting to know them a bit more and I loved the inclusion of Scripture not as overbearing or preachy, but quoted at appropriate points and illustrating their story when fit.

The book in itself is very inoffensive, both to the Duggar family and other Christian denominations, so that it can be read and enjoyed by many, but at some points, I would have loved a more personal or critical view.

The molestation scandal is glossed over and not called such, Josh isn't even mentioned by name and in light of recent events, it would have been an occasion to open up about what could have been done better and how they feel about him, but I also understand that this is not the focus of the book.

Overall, it's a good book for fans of the shows or if you want an overview of Jinger & Jeremy's lives up to this point and get to know them a bit more, but if you expect a deep and honest, raw account, you might be disappointed. Not that they owe us. But to enjoy the book, you should be looking for more of an overview than indepth biography.

Quick read, a memoir about the childhoods and beliefs from the authors.
It was definitely something they wrote.

When I first heard about the announcement of this book, I was going to read but had really low expectations with this book. I wasn’t a fan of Jinger’s last book she had written with her sister because I thought it was a preachy preachy self help kinda book rather then a memoir. I didn’t get that with this book, not only were Jinger and Jeremy were spreading the gospel but they shared their story and how their faith helped build the relationship.

There were some things that I was surprising like Jeremy’s life before he met Jinger, Jinger dealing with body image issues and basically her parents not respecting their kids boundaries (when Michelle tells Jinger to be friends with people that clearly only cared about being on tv to be loving to them is where I have a big issue among other issues). Also the fact that Jim Bob rejected Jeremy at first because of Theology differences and the Jinger rejected him because she was scared of how her family was going to think about her dating someone with different views was basically a roller coaster ride I didn’t know I was going to go on even though I know they are married lol.


If you were expecting to go into this book in hopes of mentioning of Josh Duggar and the whole scandal back in 2015, don’t be too excited. They don’t even mention his name in the book, they only mentioned how they were told about and that’s it. I can respect cause why would they talk about Josh in this book when it’s about their relationship. I do feel for them now because of Josh Duggar’s recent arrest.

I liked that after Jinger married Jeremy she branched out by being ok with making her own choices for herself. She evaluated her beliefs that were instilled in her growing up with her family and researched in the Bible if she was going to break her faith by wearing pants and showing her shoulders. She came to the conclusion on her own, made the decision for herself, and Jeremy was supportive.

Not going to lie, I cringe a couple of times when they mentioned Kirk Cameron and John MacArthur cause those people have been VERY outspoken when it comes to the lgbtqia+ community and just rubs me the wrong way. I know Jinger and Jeremy definitely has similar views but still.

They did go into basically a revision of everything that we’ve seen on counting on so be prepared to hear stuff like that.

I thought this was fine overall. If you’re a fan or have guilty pleasure in watching the show, feel free to read this.