Multiple Blessings

Readers will learn about the Duggars’ marriage—how they communicate effectively, make family decisions, and find quality time alone. They’ll discover how the Duggars manage to educate all their children at home, while providing experiences that go beyond the family walls, through vacations and educational trips. And they’ll see how the Duggar family manages their finances and lives debt-free—even when they built their own 7,000-square-foot house.

Answering the oft asked question—How can I do with one or two children what you do with seventeen(soon to be eighteen)?—Jim Bob and Michelle reveal how they create a warm and welcoming home filled with what Michelle calls “serene chaos.” They show how other parents can succeed whether they’re rearing a single child or several. With spiritual insights, experience-based wisdom,  practical tips, and plenty of humorous and tender anecdotes, the Duggars answer the questions that pour into the family’s Web site on a daily basis—especially after every national media interview and TV appearance—including their segments on the Discovery Health Channel’s “Meet the Duggars” series.

Anyone who sees America’s best-known mega family on television is filled with curiosity. People want to know….Why do they have so many children? What do they believe? What does the family do for fun? How do they get their children to obey so well? How can they afford to live? Now, Michelle and Jim Bob show how parents can succeed whether they’re rearing a single child or several.

In this second book from the Duggars, they explain the principles that equip their family to face life’s realities—including their most recent hardship with the three-month premature birth of their newest child, Josie. Josie’s birth tested everything the family believed in and demonstrates how they worked together, relying on their faith. They also discuss helping their older children navigate decisions about courtship and marriage and how to prepare to be productive adults. As the Duggars share their hearts and faith, readers will find answers to their many questions about this inspirational family.

The Roloffs are no ordinary family. Parents Matt and Amy are little people raising four children: a pair of teenage twins, Jeremy and Zachary, one of whom is average size and one who is little; preteen daughter, Molly; and the youngest, Jacob. Being part of this unique family -- where something as simple as shopping for back-to-school clothing can be a real challenge -- has presented no shortage of struggles, and in Little Family, Big Values the Roloffs share the values that have helped them and become the cornerstone of their bond.

Through family stories, each member of the family weighs in on the importance of these values in their life and the lessons -- sometimes hard -- they've learned in doing their best to live by them:

• Amy tells of the decision she made, out of love for her family, to put her career as a teacher on hold and become a stay-at-home mom.
• Matt shares how keeping faith that God has a plan for him has helped him tackle any family setbacks with confidence.
• Jeremy describes the respect he feels for his brother Zach when he sees him on the soccer field giving players twice his size a run for their money.
• Zachary recognizes his siblings' love for him when they willingly sacrifice a Christmas at home to be with him at the hospital for surgery.
• Matt's mother, Peggy, reveals how his perseverance with a boyhood paper route helped him become the successful businessman he is today.

In these and other inspiring stories, the Roloffs show us why they've become such a beloved American family and offer advice on how all families can put these values into practice to achieve a greater level of love, respect, and understanding -- no matter what their size.

Since TLC first launched its popular reality program Sister Wives, the Browns have become one of the most famous families in the country. Now Kody, Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn reveal in their own words exactly how their special relationship works—the love and faith that drew them together, the plusses and pitfalls of having sister wives, and the practical and emotional complications of a lifestyle viewed by many with distrust, prejudice, even fear. With the candor and frankness that have drawn millions to their show, they talk about what makes their fascinating family work, addressing the topics that intrigue outsiders: How do the four relationships differ? What effect does a polygamous upbringing have on their children? What are the challenges—emotional, social, or financial—involved in living this lifestyle? Is it possible for all four sister wives to feel special when sharing a husband—and what happens when jealousy arises? How has being on camera changed their lives? And what’s it like to add a new wife to the family—or to be that new wife?

Filled with humor, warmth, surprising insights, and remarkable honesty, this is a singular story of plural marriage and all the struggles and joys that go with it. At heart, it’s a love story—unconventional but immediately recognizable in the daily moments of trust, acceptance, forgiveness, passion, and commitment that go into making one big, happy, extraordinary family.

For eighteen years I was a prisoner. I was an object for someone to use and abuse.

For eighteen years I was not allowed to speak my own name. I became a mother and was forced to be a sister. For eighteen years I survived an impossible situation.

On August 26, 2009, I took my name back. My name is Jaycee Lee Dugard. I don’t think of myself as a victim. I survived.

A Stolen Life is my story—in my own words, in my own way, exactly as I remember it.

---

The pine cone is a symbol that represents the seed of a new beginning for me. To help facilitate new beginnings, with the support of animal-assisted therapy, the J A Y C Foundation provides support and services for the timely treatment of families recovering from abduction and the aftermath of traumatic experiences—families like my own who need to learn how to heal. In addition, the J A Y C Foundation hopes to facilitate awareness in schools about the important need to care for one another.

Our motto is “Just Ask Yourself to . . . Care!”

A portion of my proceeds from this memoir will be donated to The J A Y C Foundation Inc.