Initial Thoughts on The Vuolos’ Book
Read it, but admittedly skipped large chunks of the “Jeremy Only” sections. It really doesn’t contain much new material, at all, which I find ironic. Didn’t they tout this as a book that reveals more than what is seen in the show? Because, seriously, it doesn’t… Most of Jinger’s ‘early life’ stories are pulled straight out of her parents’ previous books or the show, and the ‘love story’ sections don’t add much beyond what we’ve already seen on the show. Honestly, I think the only notable ‘new’ information is in the section about their pre–courtship. (We learn that Jinger got cold feet for, like, two days and almost backed out just as Jim Bob gave Jeremy permission to officially pursue her.)
Here’s a few things discussed or learned in the book—
It is dedicated to Felicity Nicole, Evangeline Jo, and “Halleli Grace,” the baby they lost.
Jinger describes what it was like to deal with TLC cameras for the first time. “I remembered the words my parents had coached me to say in the nick of time.”
Jeremy laments his sinful adolescent partying in truly dramatic fashion.
Jinger describes how being on the show was kind of isolating, since the family sometimes had to modify their behavior to accommodate filming, and keep things "under wraps” until the show aired. As a result, Jinger says she felt she couldn’t be fully open with anyone outside the family.
Jinger says, for awhile, her parents allowed random fans to visit without giving it a second thought. It only occurred to them that this wasn’t the best idea after an incident where a visiting fan stole Jinger’s diary.
Jinger describes her struggle with body image. She avoided eating and recounts how she managed to skip meals without anyone noticing.
Apparently, Jeremy was visiting Jessa + Ben when the Duggars learned that Radar had obtained the police reports.
Speaking of the scandal… It’s extremely glossed over. The Molestation Scandal is described like this: “One of my [Jinger’s] siblings had made some sinful choices, but it had all been years ago. It had been awful, but we had dealt with it as a family.” The ‘sinful’ sibling wasn’t even named! He’s similarly not named in the Cheating Scandal, which is mentioned so quickly you barely even notice it. That scandal is described as “another shocking crisis that hit later that summer involving one of the siblings.”
When the scandals hit, the Duggars apparently went to live at a friends’ property for two weeks to escape the paparazzi.
After Jeremy asked for permission to get to know Jinger, Jim Bob didn’t give his permission for 5 Months. During this time, they spoke by phone weekly and discussed theology. Jim Bob was worried about theological differences between Jeremy and the Duggars, and thought it might be a “dealbreaker” for Jinger + Jeremy.
Because of this, Jinger started to worry that courting Jeremy might be a source of conflict and tension in the family. Right as Jim Bob decided it was actually fine, and Jeremy could court Jinger, Jinger freaked out and decided she couldn’t be with him because it was too “divisive.” Jeremy, Jim Bob, and Michelle managed to change Jinger’s mind and everything was back on track, like, two days later.
Jeremy throws out an intriguing nugget of information when he casually mentions: “When Jinger and I started our relationship, we knew that reality TV would be a part of it. I’d seen the crews around when I’d visited in the past, but I usually sat to the side if I could help it. But Jinger was under contract and obligated to be on the show.”
Apparently Ms. Renee got into the Duggar wedding dress sewing game by simply reaching out to Jinger and offering to sew her gown.
J–Rod makes a cameo appearance when Jinger + Jeremy describe how they had to take evasive action to throw the paparazzi off when they left their wedding.
They confirm that they never made it to New Zealand on the honeymoon due to the earthquake.
Apparently, the Vuolos intentionally waited ~1 Year before having a baby, and having a baby was a conscious decision on their part. No details about how they prevented pregnancy during Year 1.
Felicity is named after Felicitas, a Christian martyr.
Felicity had colic for the first month and it was very awful for everyone.
Apparently, they had wanted to have their children ~2 Years Apart.
The book ends at their miscarriage. Nothing more recent than that.
As an editing note, I noticed that Evangeline was mentioned in the dedication, but not in the “About Us” page, which I found incredibly sloppy on the editor’s part.