"We would also have to sign an NDA which would remain active for the rest of our lives. Eighty thousand dollars was a lot of money, but these strings were tight enough to choke."

If you grew up watching 19 Kids and Counting like I did, and then watched the fallout of Josh Duggar I think you'd enjoy this book. Counting The Cost is super readable; the narrative is straightforward and clear. Jill (and the other authors) have so much to say.

My heart goes out to Jill and to the entire Duggar family. Being on TV did change their family and their father. I teared up a few parts of the book but I could not put it down. The secrets, contracts, and NDAs from TLC, producers, and Jim Bob had me on one hand not surprised but also in a tizzy.

What I appreciated about this memoir was no one was painted as the evil villain. Jill shows the shades of grey on all sides. Life is complex. Throughout the narrative, we can see how Jill comes into her own and is able to stand on her feet against her parents with Derrick by her side. She addresses a lot of hard topics.

Some people said this memoir was "playing it safe" for Jill, but if you're ever been in the role of the "good" child you know how hard it would have been for Jill to write this. I found it interesting that Jill never really criticises her mother; she criticises her father a lot and her parents together but never her mother by herself. Counting the Cost spans Jill's childhood up until almost the present day.