Becoming Free Indeed

Author: Jinger Duggar
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Nelson, Thomas, Inc., 2023
Pages: 240
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: When Jinger Duggar Vuolo was growing up, she was convinced that obeying the rules was the key to success and God's favor. She zealously promoted the Basic Life Principles of Bill Gothard,

• fastidiously obeying the modesty guidelines (no shorts or jeans, only dresses),
• eagerly submitting to the umbrella of authority (any disobedience of parents would place her outside God's protection),
  
• promoting the relationship standard of courtship, and 
• avoiding any music with a worldly beat, among others.

Jinger, along with three of her sisters, wrote a New York Times bestseller about their religious convictions. She believed this level of committment would guarantee God's blessing, even though in private she felt constant fear that she wasn't measuring up to the high standards demanded of her.

In Becoming Free Indeed, Jinger shares how in her early twenties, a new family member - a brother-in-law who didn't grow up in the same tight-knit conservative circle as Jinger - caused her to examine her beliefs. He was committed to the Bible, but he didn't believe many of the things Jinger had always assumed were true. His influence, along with the help of a pastor named Jeremy Vuolo, caused Jinger to see that her life was built on rules, not God's Word.

In Becoming Free Indeed, Jinger shares how in her early twenties, a new family member - a brother-in-law who didn't grow up in the same tight-knit conservative circle as Jinger - caused her to examine her beliefs. He was committed to the Bible, but he didn't believe many of the things Jinger had alwasy assumed were true. His influence, along with the help of a pastor named Jeremy Vuolo, caused Jinger to see that her life was built on rules, not God's Word.

Jinger committed to studying the Bible - truly understanding it - for the first time. What resulted was an earth-shaking realization: much of what she'd always believed about God, disobedience to His Word, and the personal holiness wasn't in-line with what the Bible teaches.

Now with the renewed faith of personal conviction, Becoming Free Indeed shares what it was like living under the tenants of Bill Gothard, the Biblical truth that changed her perspective, and how she disentangled her faith with her belief in Jesus intact.

Review: This novel couldn't have been more different that Homecoming which I just finished yesterday. This was a quick, easy read that I finished in a couple of hours.

I always enjoy reading memoirs written by people who grew up so differently than me. Written by one of the Duggars, of the imfamous Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar family), the book had instant appeal to me. I watched a few episodes of 19 and Counting when I was a new mom, in awe of a family who was able to somehow keep it all together with 16, 17, 18, and eventually 19 children.

I knew ahead of time that this was not a tell-all, and there wouldn't be any juicy Duggar gossip, and honestly, I've had enough of that from celebrity memoirs and headlines. This is the story of Jinger Duggar coming to grips with the cult-like, "Christianity" she was taught. She discusses how in her early twenties, she began to view the world and what it mean to be Christian differently. 

She's able to poke fun at herself, she's relatable, and this was a not a book about "poor me," my parents messed me up for life. I enjoyed her journey.