Jill Duggar Talks Reliving Brother Josh's Abuse In New Memoir

Jill Duggar is not holding back on her truth in her recently released memoir "Counting the Cost."

In the book, the former star of TLC's "19 Kids and Counting" discusses her journey and shares her perspective on the painful memories related to her brother Josh Duggar's actions, which she describes as abusive.

She and her husband, Derick Dillard, opened up about this experience in a recent interview, with her disclosing that writing about her brother's abuse was the hardest part of putting the memoir together.

For reality television lovers, it's no news that Jill's journey into the public eye began when she was just 13, as her family started appearing in television specials that eventually led to "19 Kids and Counting" and later "Counting On."

In 2015, a report by In Touch magazine published redacted police records alleging that Jill and some of her sisters were victims of molestation by their eldest brother, Joshua "Josh" James Duggar, during their childhood. Josh was later convicted on charges related to receiving and possessing child pornography and is currently serving a sentence of more than a decade. 

The tragic experience obviously left a lifelong impact on Jill, which she addresses in her book. Speaking to ET about her decision to shed light on the traumatic aftermath through her words, the 32-year-old expressed:

"I knew that we would have to address things in the book that I wouldn't want to. I did not want to talk about those things, but I knew writing a book, I couldn't just not address it."

Her partner chimed in saying, "Child sexual abuse, victim information, should never be public. That was really part of why I went into the legal profession, [I] was just so aggravated by that... Jill shared certain things with me because we were getting married that nobody else should know." 

After Derick's statement, Jill admitted that they took time to establish boundaries during their writing sessions. She explained, "We did use care in what had already been out there with my story. I am not just going to overshare, people want gritty nasty details, I am not going to overshare."

The former television personality also emphasized the importance of respecting her own privacy, especially after spending her childhood in the public eye. 

"As we've lived our lives, we've learned a lot. Growing up in TV, I know that there can be a tendency to overshare, so I wanted to do it with care," Jill admitted, adding that she wanted to tell her story "while not coming at it from an angle of bashing or shaming, and so in that way, I would say we did kind of reign it in but at the same time still tell the truth."

Agreeing with her, Derick disclosed that they approached the writing process with the aim of empowering his wife to tell her story on her terms. "To be able to be the ones to choose to share those things. What I hate is that whenever that power is taken away from you," the Internet personality shared.

Shortly before "Counting the Cost" hit bookshelves, an excerpt of the book detailing the conflict between Jill, Derick, and the family's patriarch, Jim Bob, over the latter's alleged favoritism had surfaced online.

As reported by The Blast, the snippet — as documented by the couple alongside third writer, Craig Brolase, reflected on the moment Jill attempted to repair her strained relationship with her parents after accusing her dad of verbally abusing her.

During the meeting, it's revealed that Jim Bob was deeply upset about a letter he had received from his daughter and son-in-law, a message that his wife Michelle described as the "most disrespectful thing" she had ever read. 

Despite her emphasis that she never intended to hurt her parents with the note, her father seemed uninterested in why she did it. As the patriarch passionately said in the book:

"You sent me a text message, Jill. You said I was verbally abusing you. I was so offended by that, too. You know in your heart that's not right. Are you going to apologize for that?" 

Things quickly escalated from there, as the politician angrily got into her space in an "act of aggression." Luckily, Jill was able to restrain Derick from planting one on his father-in-law, even though the latter berated her for crying openly. Wrapping up the episode, the mother of three wrote:

"You treat me like I'm a prodigal who's turned her back on you. You treat me worse than you treat my pedophile brother."