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For years, Collin Gosselin’s story has played out in headlines, court documents and on our TV screens.
Now the former reality star says he is ready to tell the story himself.
Son of the former Jon & Kate Plus 8 stars Jon and Kate Gosselin have announced plans to publish a memoir detailing his experiences growing up in one of reality TV’s most famous families.
Collins’ book is titled In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood and is scheduled for release on October 13.
And based on his comments, readers should expect some big revelations.
In a statement announcing the project, Collin explained that fear prevented him from speaking openly about many aspects of his childhood.
“For a long time I wasn’t sure I would ever tell this story. Growing up, millions of people watched my life on TV. People felt like they knew me. They knew my family,” he wrote on Instagram, adding:
“They watched me grow up. But there was so much they never saw. For years I kept these experiences to myself. Some because I was afraid. Some because I didn’t think anyone would believe me. And some because I just wasn’t ready.”
But the 22-year-old says he is finally ready to share his truth.
According to Collin, writing the memoir forced him to delve into some very difficult episodes from his childhood.
“Writing this book forced me to revisit some of the most difficult moments in my life, but it also gave me something. I’ve been looking for a long time: my voice. It’s not the story people think they know. It’s the story I’ve lived.
Collins’ relationship with his mother has been strained for a long time.
As fans of the family know, Kate Gosselin sent Collin to a behavioral treatment facility when he was a child, citing behavioral and mental health issues. Years later, Jon Gosselin gained custody of both Collin and his sister Hannah.
Since then, Collin has repeatedly accused Kate of mistreating him in his childhood.
In previous interviews, he claimed that he was isolated from his siblings and subjected to abusive treatment. Kate has vehemently denied these claims and has maintained that decisions regarding Collins’ care were made due to serious behavioral and psychiatric issues.
The family remains deeply divided, with several of Collins’ siblings reportedly estranged from both him and Jon.
Kate is probably dreading the release date, but Collin says the book won’t just focus on family conflicts.
Instead, he hopes it will give readers a better understanding of what he experienced behind the scenes while growing up in the limelight.
For longtime followers of the Gosselin family saga, the book could provide the most detailed account yet from one of the children at the center of the controversy.
Whether it also restarts the long-running feud between Jon and Kate remains to be seen.
