Throughout her tumultuous childhood, Jinger Duggar often was prohibited from speaking her mind.
Her famous parents fiercely guarded their privacy while making public spectacles of their children.
The result, for Jinger and her siblings, was a disorienting childhood in which they were frequently asked to smile for the camera while simultaneously concealing dark family secrets.
Jinger Duggar Tells Her Story
In her adult life, the fourth Duggar daughter has decided to make up for lost time.
Jinger has already published one memoir, and she has a second on the way.
Her new book, People Pleaser: Breaking Free from the Burden of Imaginary Expectations, will hit stores in January. And Jinger is already drumming up interest by offering some of the most candid interviews of her career.
In a recent conversation with People magazine, the mother of two opened up about the insecurities and mental health issues that led her to self-isolate as a child.
“I was so consumed with what everyone around me thought about me,” she told the outlet on Tuesday.
“And oftentimes, I saw how it just started to get serious when it started affecting my relationships or just really causing me to reject certain relationships because I was afraid of what that person might think of me,” she continued.
Jinger Reveals Problematic Relationship With Food
Jinger went on to reveal that her need for acceptance led to disordered eating.
“I thought like, ‘Oh, I’m too fat.’ Even though I wasn’t,” she said.
“I was afraid of eating too much because I was like, ‘Oh no, my friends aren’t going to like me because they’re skinnier than me.’”
Jinger added that she was eventually able to overcome her troubled relationship with food through the help of her family and friends.
Jinger’s Message to Fans
With her new book, Jinger hopes to offer guidance to fans who might be struggling in a similar fashion.
“We wake up, we scroll, we see everybody’s perfect lives, and we’re trying to compare ourselves to then meet up to their standards of what they expect us to be,” she told People.
“A lot of these are just imaginary expectations. So, I wanted to write a book that would be more relatable, in a sense. Like, ‘Okay, we are all in this place of people-pleasing.
“I don’t have it all figured out, but this is what I’m learning on this journey of trying to be set free from this. There is an answer, there is a solution.’”
We’re sure that like most people, Jinger still struggles with the burden of imaginary expectations from time to time.
But it sounds like she’s made tremendous strides in her healing journey. And we admire her willingness to help others do the same.
