Bonnie’s review of Shari’s book - “It’s all about ME.”

My sister and I are nothing alike. Just forget that we share parents, siblings, upbringing, our faith, the fact we both married and started our families young, rely on YouTube for the vast majority of our income, have eldest daughters, moved from small starter homes to large multi million dollar ones, etc. My sister and I are nothing a like, she is blonde and I’m brunette.

I totally support Shari. Never mind that I made no mention of her book prior to its release and then posted MY opinion - which largely revolved around defending family vlogging. I could have demonetized the video to demonstrate that I had no interest in profiting off her pain to set the record straight but I didn’t. I could have used the video to talk about how this experience has grown or changed me for the better - because even if I’m not my sister - there is always something to be learned. I could have not posted family style vlogs the week Shari posted her video. I could have reached out to Shari when she entered college to say hi and to check in. When we learned what Shari was going through, my sisters and I could have banded together to take the load off of an 18 year old girl who was all alone in the world. We could have used our platforms to raise awareness about what was happening with ConneXions and the Franke kids - just like we use our platforms to sell products. While that may have caused us to lose favor with some viewers, family is the cornerstone.

I've never posted videos of my children that were inappropriate like Ruby - and certainly not for views. The video where my elementary school aged child is begging for a cell phone and counting the money in her piggy bank because she thinks it's enough to pay for one? Totally appropriate. Videos where I discuss how my daughter's friend group left her behind or planned things without her? Acceptable. Video of my oldest son throwing up due to intense dehydration upon visiting FL? It's educational for other parents wanting to follow in our footsteps. A whole video dedicated to how my son lost a finger? Totally necessary.

Family vlogging is ok although there are no long term studies to demonstrate its impact on children. It’s really ok because I pay my kids. They have retirement funds. But I’m not going to share what those payments look like or what happens when my children don’t want to vlog. When my kids don’t want to vlog, they can easily avoid the camera in our 10 by 20 foot camper where they have no expectation of privacy. Or when they’re at home, they can go to their rooms which are lovingly decorated reflections of their individual personalities and interests - not barren spaces where they wouldn’t want to spend too much of their time.

I’m Bonnie Hoellein. And I’m nothing like my sister. ::cue tears:::