Book Review

I just got done reading "20 and Counting," by Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar. This is not a new book, in fact, if it were new, the title would be "21 and Counting," since the Duggars added their 19th child last year. But, it was checked out at the library every time I thought of it until last week.

I ended up reading the book in two days, and those without little children could read it in one. I was sucked in, and while I have watched nearly every episode of their television show, reading their story and how they came to where they are now is quite inspiring. We cut our cable a few months ago, and this show is what I miss the most, in fact, it's the only show I miss :-( .

This family's convictions are quite courageous. They not only have beliefs and values, but they follow them without fail, regardless of the implications. This is not only in regard to their family size, but for instance, they don't agree with smoking, so when they owned a convenience store they decided that they couldn't, in good conscience, sell cigarettes. They knew it would mean less business and money, but they followed through with their beliefs. For some that might seem ignorant, or even foolish, but I found it very admirable, even though I personally don't take a definitive "moral" stance on smoking.

Their book takes you on a journey from their humble beginnings and how they trusted, learned, and took big risks to end up where they are now. The way they accomplished building businesses and buying their home and construction equipment (without debt) is pretty remarkable.

Having my own plights with the laundry routine, I was especially interested in Mrs. Duggar's ideas on laundry and chores. She had four children under four, and then five and six under five. It was then that they made the laundry space also a clothing storage space and made the bedrooms exclusively for sleeping (i.e. without dressers). This was a novel idea to me, and one, after she explained her reasonings, made a terrific amount of sense. Mrs. Duggar had been spending too much time transporting the clothes back into the drawers, and once in the drawers, little hands soon were disrupting the order of the clothes. With the new laundry system, the children pick out their clothes the night before and bring them to their room. Socks and undies are labeled by name in wash tubs, as well as pants. I mentioned this idea to Mark, and we both agreed that it was a great idea. She also dresses many of the children alike, and this she explained, was to make laundry easier. If 18 children wear red shirts, then there's a laundry load of red shirts. Wow, it's almost too easy.

Some people have issues with the Duggars, and while they "put themselves out there" and open their family up to criticism, I don't have anything bad to say about them. There was a point where I had the impression of a type of "moralism" within their belief system, and that they equated their family size with their holiness, changing children from being a gift to a measure of faith. After reading their book, I'm convinced that this is not the case. They simple were willing, and happened to have a perfect storm of fecundity and openness.

As a mother of young ones, I was very encouraged by this book. In fact, I love it. I'm happy that the Duggars are around. Their perspective is refreshing.