Jill Duggar was shocked by a number of the revelations about her household in cousin Amy Duggar‘s new memoir — identical to Us.
The 19 Children and Counting alums and their husbands teamed up for an Instagram Dwell Q&A following the discharge of Amy’s e book, Holy Disruptor, on October 14. At one level, Jill, 34, was requested whether or not she knew about her grandfather Jimmy Lee Duggar‘s alleged abusive conduct earlier than selecting up the memoir. (Jimmy Lee, who died in 2009, was the daddy of Jill’s dad, Jim Bob, and Amy’s mother, Deanna.)
Jill and her husband, Derick Dillard, defined that they learn Amy’s e book throughout a current journey, however because of Jill’s schedule, they weren’t studying on the similar tempo.
“I truly informed Jill some issues about her grandfather that she didn’t know, in order that was an fascinating dynamic,” Derick mentioned.
Jill went on to recall their dialog. “He was like, ‘Do you know this, that or the opposite about Grandpa Duggar? And I used to be like, ‘No, inform me extra,’” she mentioned. “And it was so bizarre as a result of he’s like, ‘I’m actually telling you extra about your grandpa than you knew.’”
In accordance with Jill, her husband “by no means received to fulfill” Jimmy Lee, however she had stuffed him in on a number of the tales about her grandfather up to now. “[The book] undoubtedly is deep,” Jill continued. “It goes into numerous points … and the truth of numerous conditions that our household lived.”
Jill praised her cousin’s “boldness” in sharing such troublesome reminiscences about her childhood and prolonged household. “It was very insightful, truthfully,” Jill mentioned. “We discovered extra about our household historical past than we knew. We had inklings of issues, however even simply your loved ones and all the things you went via.”
In Holy Disruptor, Amy opened up for the primary time about her “sophisticated” and “unpredictable” grandfather — and the abuse her mom allegedly skilled whereas rising up. Amy described one occasion when Deanna returned dwelling from faculty and noticed her dad and mom combating. Jimmy Lee then turned his anger on his daughter.
“With a leather-based belt in his hand and essentially the most haunting, crazed look in his eyes, he grabbed her by the legs, held her down on the mattress, and commenced beating her, each hit tougher than the final. … This brutal torture lasted for greater than an hour,” Amy claimed, including that Deanna was left “black and blue and crushed to a bloody pulp.”
When Deanna was 21, her father allegedly “went ballistic” when she introduced up the thought of transferring in together with her then-boyfriend. “[Jimmy Lee] grabbed her by the throat, carried her from the kitchen to his mattress, and jumped on prime of her. He wrapped his fingers round her neck, lay on prime of her so she was unable to maneuver, and began strangling her. … He nearly succeeded in murdering my mom,” Amy wrote.
Jim Bob stepped in to assist his sister and “saved her life that day,” based on Amy.
Whereas the bodily abuse finally stopped, there was extra to be uncovered about Jimmy Lee’s alleged conduct. Amy revealed she was informed by no means to be alone together with her grandpa — however she didn’t perceive why till after his loss of life.
“The explanation I used to be not allowed to be alone with my grandpa was as a result of he was a predator!” Amy wrote. “Beneath JL’s charming and humorous character was a real monster.”
In an unique interview with Us Weekly earlier than her e book’s launch, Amy shared that her mother was initially hesitant in regards to the world studying the reality about Jimmy Lee.
“I believe at first she sort of pushed again. … After which I believe she thought of it and was like, ‘You already know what? Really, by speaking about it, it takes away its energy,’” Amy informed Us.
In case you or somebody you already know is experiencing home violence, please name the Nationwide Home Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential help.
