With just days left until Jinger Duggar's tell-all book is finally out in the world, it sounds like Jim Bob Duggar is preparing for the worst. He already may be using one of his oldest daughters to do damage control ahead of time — and that's not the only eyebrow-raising action taken by certain members of the family in recent weeks.
Jinger has gone full steam ahead on promoting her book.
Becoming Free Indeed, in which Jinger promises to open up about her "cult-like" upbringing inside the Institute in Basic Life Principles, will hit shelves on January 31, and Jinger is making the rounds in the media to get out the word.
She's already sat down with People for a lengthy interview, and in the coming days, she will be chatting with Nightline anchor JuJu Chang to discuss her journey even more. As Duggar critic Katie Joy of Without a Crystal Ball mentioned in her post about the interview, Jinger talking about her childhood relationship with religion on primetime TV is a big deal — and likely one her dad isn't happy about.
It seems Jim Bob is already preparing for the storm ahead.
As Katie Joy pointed out in another post, Jim Bob seems to be working overtime when it comes to presenting his family as a united front — at least, what's left of it. We already know that both Jinger and Jill have walked away from the family's strict religious rules after discovering their own definitions of faith and Christianity, and among a family of 19 children, it's likely they aren't the only ones who will do so.
Given that Jinger names brother-in-law Ben Seewald in her book as one of the people who helped to open her eyes to the corruption of the IBLP, it makes sense that Jessa may have quietly walked away herself too … but that's not what Jim Bob wants people to think.
Jessa has been spotted spending time at her parents' house lately, and it seems *very* intentional.
"For months, Jessa was not seen in any of the Duggar family videos. Then suddenly the closer we get to Jinger’s release both James and Jed have posted videos with Jessa & Ben at their home," Katie Joy wrote in an Instagram post. "I truly believe that Jim Bob wants people to know that Jessa is still in the fold despite Jinger stating that Ben helped her wake up from the IBLP."
it's totally possible that Jim Bob would encourage his kids to include footage of Jessa in their vlogs — after all, from what sources close to the family have shared over the years, it appears control has always been very important to him.
He may want to ensure that Jinger doesn't seem credible.
"There is going to be a lot of deflection and games played by Jim Bob through his kids to try to make Jinger look like a liar. He will do this to 'flex' to his followers and well, because he’s a narcissist — in my opinion," Katie Joy continued.
The Duggar family themselves haven't posted on Instagram since May 2022, when they announced the birth of Jed and Katey's first child, Truett, but we have to wonder if that's all about to change once Jinger's book is out.
Meanwhile, she seems to be getting plenty of support elsewhere.
Having already separated herself from the IBLP and the family fold years ago, it seems as if Jill is going to be one of Jinger's biggest cheerleaders. For instance, she's already been commenting her support as Jinger promotes her book on Instagram.
But still, Katie Joy and other Duggar followers have noticed that Jinger didn't do the same for Jill when it was her turn to go through the process, which must have been hard for her at the time.
There's no doubting that this is a tough time for Jinger as she shares her story in her own words, especially if her dad decides to make it his mission to make it seem like she's not actually telling the truth about what went on in their house when she was a child.
