Jill Duggar and her mom, Michelle Duggar, have had a complicated relationship and she explains some of it in her memoir, ‘Counting the Cost.’
Those who have followed the Duggar family since 19 Kids and Counting and then Counting On know a lot about Jill Duggar’s relationship with dad Jim Bob Duggar. But what about her mom, Michelle Duggar? In many ways, Michelle seems to have remained loyal to her husband’s ideals and opinions over the years. But Jill’s memoir, Counting the Cost, sheds more light onto what her relationship with her mother is like now.
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According to the book, Jill and her husband, Derick Dillard, made the decision to leave reality TV behind when they were denied financial help after a costly and traumatic birth. What followed was a series of back and forth negotiations about signing another contract, being paid a fair amount for their time on the show, and gaining access to previous contracts from TLC. When Jim Bob pushed back on this, so did Michelle. And Jill is pretty candid about it in her book.
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What is Jill Duggar’s relationship like with Michelle Duggar?
Before Jill released her book, detailing her revelations regarding the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) which her family has followed for years, the public had the idea that Jill barely spoke to both of her parents. And as of right now that may still be partly true. But Counting the Cost also shows how Jill has tried in different ways to maintain some kind of relationship with her parents over the years, if still making her boundaries clear. And she still wants her mom and dad in her life.
“I see the myriad [of] ways she cared for us when we were growing up, the sacrifices she made, and the depth of her love for people,” Jill writes in Counting the Cost. “I love her, respect her, and look up to her. She is the first person I call whenever I have a question about our baby’s health, and I love that we can still connect that way no matter what family drama is occurring.”
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Jill also explains in her memoir how she and Michelle were able to connect in ways they hadn’t “for years” after the birth of Jill’s third child. Michelle even helped with the baby while Jill recovered, following her C-section.
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Jill Duggar is still working on things with her family.
The majority of Counting the Cost explains the circumstances under which Jill and Derick opted to no longer be part of the family’s TLC show or Jim Bob’s company, Mad Family Inc. Much of it, according to Jill, stemmed from a lack of transparency and even trust in regards to what it meant for her and Derick to sign literal years of their life away to filming for little to no money in return.
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Jill’s decisions to ask for answers and to be given choices came from her newfound understanding of the IBLP. They were also a result of her new opinions regarding the way she was brought up, with high modesty standards for girls and women and plenty of rules in place to keep children in line. She began to question things and eventually, Jill removed herself from the IBLP teachings altogether.
But even so, she tries to maintain a relationship with her parents and even her siblings. Counting the Cost makes it clear that Jill didn’t write the book in order to further distance herself from her family or to attack them.
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She explains in her book that her point in writing it wasn’t to “shame” her family in any way or to even mend fences with the memoir. Jill says in her “Author’s Note” that she knows not all families are perfect, but she expects to continue to work on her relationships.
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For Jill, it seems, writing Counting the Cost, which is also the first real Duggar tell-all book, was about being as open as possible. And as she continues to mend relationships with Michelle and Jim Bob, she appears to be continuing her journey to healing.
‘Welcome to Plathville’ star Moriah Plath was diagnosed with alopecia as a kid and it impacted her a lot. Here’s where she stands today with the past.
The Gist:
Welcome to Plathville‘s Moriah struggled with alopecia during her childhood.
The condition led to her low self-worth.
Years later, the reality star is more at peace with her experience.
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Many of us have difficult things from our pasts that define us today, and Moriah Plath of Welcome to Plathville is no different. In her case, however, her childhood diagnosis of alopecia was hidden away for years — until now.
Although the reality star once tried to pretend that this upsetting time in her life never happened, she is coming to terms with having lost all of her hair as a kid.
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Moriah Plath’s alopecia diagnosis truly shaped who she was for many years.
As other sufferers know, alopecia is a type of hair loss that occurs on the scalp, face, and body, per the American Academy of Dermatology Association. It can begin at any age, and for Moriah, at age 3, she received her diagnosis.
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“I would look myself in the mirror and I would say, ‘You are ugly. Nobody will ever love you,’” she heartbreakingly recalls during an episode of the show.
She goes on to explain, “I lost all my hair for several years completely, not even eyebrows or eyelashes,” per People.
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Moriah, who described herself as “completely bald,” shared more about her experience with the incurable disease, saying during the show, “The doctors said it was alopecia but it was like a rare kind of alopecia cause it just all fell out immediately and came back years later. Everywhere I went, I was made fun of by kids my age: [at] church, [by] my siblings. And that’s when I really started to see myself as different.”
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Moriah tried to block out her alopecia experience when her hair came back.
Moriah was seemingly in denial about having had alopecia, relaying that “every single one of my family members knew never to show a picture of me when I was younger to anybody. And never to tell anybody.”
Moriah admitted she wanted to “block” out the very hard time in her life, and in one scene of Welcome to Plathville, she says to her father that when her hair returned, she decided to “forget” about the alopecia.
Moriah’s parents Barry and Kim made her feel “beautiful” when she had alopecia.
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In a moving Instagram post shared in May 2023, Moriah said about her father Barry Plath, “He’s shown me the meaning of unconditional love.”
Moriah’s parents were very supportive during her struggles with alopecia.
Indeed, it seems that during the years she had alopecia, Barry and his ex-wife Kim were a source of support for their daughter.
“I think you and mom were the only ones that actually told me I was beautiful,” Moriah tells Barry on the episode.
Still, her parents couldn’t make her pain go away completely. “For a while I was angry because you guys couldn’t fix it and you were my parents and you were supposed to fix it, but you couldn’t,” she shares.
Today, it seems that Moriah is more comfortable with her past, since she is addressing the experience with the condition on a TV show. Since as many as 160 million people around the world suffer from alopecia, there’s no doubt that the reality star opening up about her own diagnosis will help others feel more seen.
Baseball legend Brooks Robinson has died at the age of 86, and many want to know about the former Baltimore Orioles player’s cause of death.
Source: Getty Images
The Gist:
Brooks Robinson died on Sept. 26, 2023. He was 86 years old.
He played for more than 20 years with the Baltimore Orioles and was an All-Star 18 times over.
His cause of death hasn’t been announced, but he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2009.
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Baltimore Orioles fans have a lot to celebrate this year as their team appears to be playoff bound, but now, that joy has been tempered by the news that Brooks Robinson, a legend for the team, has died at the age of 86. Brooks spent his entire 23-year career with the Orioles, and was an All-Star in 18 separate seasons for the team.
Brooks is widely recognized as one of the greatest defensive third basemen to ever play the sport, and his number was retired by the Orioles in 1978. He earned the nickname “Mr. Oriole,” and those who followed the game when he played or even just heard stories about him likely know how much he meant to Baltimore fans.
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Source: Getty Images
What was Brooks Robinson’s cause of death?
Following the news of his death on Sept. 26, 2023, many naturally wondered what Brooks’s cause of death was.
His death was first announced by the Orioles in a joint statement with his family.
“We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of Brooks Robinson,” the statement read. “An integral part of our Orioles Family since 1955, he will continue to leave a lasting impact on our club, our community, and the sport of baseball.”
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No cause of death was listed as part of that statement, but Brooks had faced a number of health challenges in the later years of his life. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2009, and had to have surgery in 2021 to repair a broken arm.
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For now, though, his exact cause of death remains unknown, and will likely be the subject of some speculation following the news of his death.
What requires no speculation, though, is the legacy Brooks established on the field. The high watermark of his career may have come in 1970 during the World Series, when his excellent play on both sides of the ball helped the team beat the Reds in five games to take home the title. Few players have had a greater impact on the sport in general or on the team they played for in particular.
Our prayers are with Brooks’s family, friends, and fans during this time.
This baby was fussy with her aunt — until she heard her deceased mom’s heartbeat in her favorite teddy bear. And we’re all in tears.
Losing a loved one is an inevitable part of this funny thing called life. No matter how old or young you may be, no one is immune to grief. Everyone can agree that no parent should ever have to bury their child. On the other hand, when a parent is laid to rest, we can just chalk it up to the circle of life.
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It’s hard to say that when it comes to this poor baby, whose mom died suddenly. While the baby girl sadly will never get to know her mother, what she does have, however, is an auntie who does whatever it takes to preserve her sister’s memory.
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In a now-viral video on TikTok, the baby was visibly upset. It was then that her aunt came to the rescue with a stuffed animal. But not just any stuffed animal — this one plays a recording of her mama’s heartbeat.
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This baby calmed down when she heard her deceased mom’s heartbeat in a teddy bear.
While social media is good for jokes and fun times, it also documents some heartbreaking moments. Let’s take Lula Smith’s (@lulasmith65) viral TikTok video. In it, she’s holding her niece whose mother died months earlier.
The baby is fussy until Auntie saves the day with her favorite stuffed animal.
“She cries because she wants her bear,” Lula says in the video. Lo and behold, she was right. She pressed the bear, which started playing a heartbeat. The baby calmed down and fell asleep within a matter of seconds.
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Heartbeat teddy bears are trending — here’s what you need to know.
Lula’s video was a perfect example of how you can use heartbeat teddy bears from Build-a-Bear or even your local ultrasound tech. A search on TikTok reveals that plenty of other people have had the same idea.
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While some parents get a recording of their child’s heartbeat in a teddy bear as a keepsake, others use them to cope with loss. This mom gave birth to twin girls but only one survived. She was able to use the heartbeat teddy bear to commemorate her deceased daughter on what would have been the twin’s first birthday.
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Lula started a GoFundMe for the baby and her four siblings.
On a GoFundMe page launched by Lula in April 2023, she explained the circumstances under which she gained custody of her sister’s daughter. The baby’s mom apparently died of an asthma attack.
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“She was a 29-year-old mother with five kids,” Lula said of her sister. She asked for donations toward the funeral expenses and supporting her sister’s children, who were all under the age of 12 when their mom died. “My sister Kahlilah (Mina) did not have life insurance. Putting my pride to the side and finally asking for help.”
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Lula added, “This was unexpected for us all. I’m praying for better days to come. For her children and us. Never in a million years I would think an asthma attack would take her from us. I don’t know how we going to do any of this.”
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Thanks to her now-viral video, Lula and the kids will hopefully get help during this very difficult time in their lives. If you want to lend a hand, you can donate to the GoFundMe account.
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