Jill Duggar's 'Counting the Cost' Book's Bombshell Quotes

Jill Dillard’s (née Duggar) tell-all memoir, Counting the Cost, finally arrived on September 12, 2023. In the book, the Counting On alum gave “the unedited truth about the Duggars, the traditional Christian family that captivated the nation on TLC’s hit show 19 Kids and Counting,” according to the description.

The memoir came after Jill and her husband, Derick Dillard, appeared in Amazon Prime Video’s Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets documentary in June 2023. The four-part series dropped plenty of bombshells about the Duggar family’s involvement in the Institute of Basic Life Principles and their TLC shows. However, it seems Jill wasn’t finished sharing her side of the story.

Keep scrolling to see the biggest quotes and revelations from Counting the Cost.

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Jill Called Josh a ‘Pedophile’ to Her Parents

Recounting when she finally reunited with her parents to discuss their devolving relationship after not seeing them for three months, Jill said that her father called her “guilty” after she labeled him verbally abusive. Jill – who was crying at that point– responded by saying that her father targeted her since she was “evolving,” telling him, “You treat me worse than you treat my pedophile brother.” Their meeting lasted about three hours, with “not much in the way of resolution.”

Jill and Jim Bob’s Near-Physical Altercation

In her book, Jill detailed a meeting she had with her parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, along with a mediator, when tension in their family reached a new height. She wrote that Jim Bob’s “body language shifted” as she started the meeting.

“He wasn’t smiling from the video and the girl outside anymore. Instead, he was sitting very still, lips tight, eyes locked in a scowl that had been sculpted out of rock,” Jill continued. Jim Bob then wanted Jill to apologize for a text message in which she accused him of verbally abusing her. When Jill stayed silent, her father stood up and got “loud.”

“There was an edge to it that I’d rarely heard,” she explained. “Pops took a step toward me, closing the gap. It wasn’t a gesture of reconciliation. It was an act of aggression. He towered over me, his whole body fueled with anger. My face flushed red. My eyes filled with tears. Then there was a long, awful silence that I wanted to fill but just couldn’t yet. Pops’ voice was so loud in my ears. His words were like blows. I instinctively tried to protect myself and block him out. I curled up on my seat, trying to find safety in some kind of fetal position.”

Jim Bob’s Reaction to Jill Wearing Pants

The Duggars have long shared a strict dress code that prohibits the women from wearing pants, but many of the Duggar daughters, including Jill, have broken that rule. She detailed Jim Bob’s reaction to her wearing leggings in public for the first time, noting that her father gave her a book on modesty.

“I cried when I got home. I felt embarrassed, humiliated, even though nobody else had been in the room with us,” Jill wrote. “Pops had told us ever since we were little that we needed to be able to stand up for our convictions, even if others disagreed. Why couldn’t he see that by deciding to wear pants, I was doing exactly what he taught us? All my life I’d been trying to show respect to Pops, but when was he going to show the same to me?”

Jill Nearly Died During Childbirth

Jill’s decision to go on birth control was made after her frightening experience giving birth to her second son, Samuel. She revealed in her book that she had an emergency C-section where her son’s heart was unstable. Jill had a hole in her uterus and needed a blood transfusion to save her life. Though she kept her birth control a “secret from nearly everyone,” she knew it was the right choice for her health after that experience.

“I was devastated at the thought of not being able to have more kids, and I felt like my fertility had been robbed from me,” Jill wrote. “But also, dare I say it, I was somewhat relieved. The devastation far outweighed the relief, but there was a small part of me that appreciated the excuse not to have to go through a zillion pregnancies and deliveries.”

Jim Bob Allegedly Threatened to Lower Jill’s Inheritance

In Shiny Happy People, Jill and Derick discussed the disputes they had with Jim Bob over payment for 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On. Jill then revealed in Counting the Cost that at one point, she and her husband wrote to Jim Bob asking for the money they were owed for the shows after they received a tax bill of $130,000 in earnings. In response, Jim Bob allegedly offered only $20,000 and threatened to lower Jill’s inheritance if she “continued to attack” him.

“’$20,000 is a one-time offer, take it or leave it, please let me know by Monday night, or the amount will be zero,’” Jill claimed her father said. “‘If you attack us, probably your inheritance will be lowered significantly. I love you, but I am grieved by the disrespect and the accusations that continue.’”

Jim Bob and Michelle’s Support of Josh Duggar Made Jill ‘Sick’

In 2015, Josh Duggar admitted to molesting his sisters as a teen. However, his parents knew about the inappropriate touching in 2002 after one of the siblings claimed Josh, who was 14 at the time, touched her breasts and genitals while she was sleeping on multiple occasions. Several other sisters accused Josh of the same actions, but Jim Bob disciplined his son and told the church elders instead of reporting the incidents to the police.

“Though I love my parents and it made a lot of sense that they would want to protect and care for their child, I couldn’t help but think about the lengths that Pops had gone to in order to guard Josh’s privacy and keep him from being publicly humiliated,” she wrote. “The feelings grew stronger within me, and by the time I went to bed I felt sick to my core.”