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Collin Gosselin doesn’t feel anxious about releasing his memoir.
Ahead of the premiere of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, he’s taking time to promote his book.
Someone should feel nervous, he says. It just isn’t him.
It’s not difficult to guess that he means his awful mother, Kate.
Collin Gosselin is ‘not the one that should be nervous’
Collin Gosselin is one of the stars of Season 5 of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.
Yes, his infamous mother, Kate, previously appeared on the 2000s-cringe-vibes reality star mashup series in Season 1.
His memoir, In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood, releases mere weeks from now.
While promoting the Season 5 premiere, he was asked if he feels “nervous” for people to read it.
Collin replied: “I mean, I’m just going to say this: I’m not the one that should be nervous.”
From context of everything from his book to the sad story of his life, it is clear that Collin is referring to his mother.
Indeed, there are reports that Kate Gosselin has been “spiraling” upon hearing that her estranged son has a memoir coming out.
The psychology of bad parents is complex and varies from ideological villains to extreme mental illness to people who have simply chosen to be monsters.
The final group — often people who may earnestly believe that they or good or that they did their best (or who truly did their best, but it was not good enough) — sometimes react especially poorly to criticism.
There are certain types of bad parents whose abuse is largely prompted by an obsession with image, especially to the public. To such a person, a child coming out with a memoir must be their greatest fear made manifest.
‘In The Shadow of Eight’ comes out in October
To be clear, Collin Gosselin has spoken publicly about many topics, from growing up on reality TV to the aspects of his childhood that were never caught on camera.
(Long ago, a video surfaced of Kate hitting him, but his descriptions make it sound like this was only one small part of growing up.)
In 2024, Collin described Kate allegedly zip-tying his hands and feet together and locking him away in the basement.
(At the time at which he spoke up, Kate declined to comment on the allegations.)
Then, when he was 12, Kate locked Collin away — no “allegedly” required — in an institution. He says that it was to cover up her abuse. She claims that it was due to alleged behavioral issues.
After two years locked away, Jon was able to finally get custody of Hannah and Collin, rescuing him from the institution and taking him home.
(Many have observed that abuse and institutionalization might both encourage someone to seek out a structured environment such as the military, though Collin’s dream of joining the Marines fell through.)
For the record, Jon’s ex, Colleen, a woman with no real incentive to speak out at all, has repeatedly shown up for Collin, defended him publicly, and expressed how proud she is of him after he spent years living in her home.
Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test Season 5 premieres on Thursday, September 24. Disgraced former congressman George Santos is on this season. Truly, a 30 Rock joke of a show.
Meanwhile, In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood goes on sale on October 13.
It’s available for preorder. Society categorically failed to protect Collin when he was a child. It is our sincere hope that people will at least read his story.
