Collin Gosselin Details Alleged Abuse by Mother in New Memoir

Collin Gosselin, one of the sextuplets featured on the TLC series that followed Jon and Kate Gosselin’s family, is releasing a memoir titled In the Shadow of Eight that recounts his version of events growing up. The book alleges that his mother, Kate Gosselin, behaved harshly toward him when the cameras were not rolling.

"Simply put, my whole life that I lived was a lie," Gosselin told Good Morning America. "All the things you see on TV, lies."

He said a fourth-grade teacher noticed a swollen ear, prompting him to inform a school counselor that his mother had dragged him across a room by his earlobe. Gosselin added that his mother was displeased with his disclosure and that he feared involving child-protective services. He also described attempts to run away and claims that his mother restrained him with zip ties.

According to the memoir, Gosselin was placed in a residential institution before his 12th birthday, a move he described as being justified as being "for his own good." He later reunited with his father and sister Hannah, who no longer reside with Kate. Gosselin expressed a desire to reconnect with his remaining siblings, noting that he "will never know what it’s like to have a normal childhood" with them.

The memoir adds to ongoing public discussion about the reality-TV family’s private life, contrasting the on-screen portrayal with the accounts presented by Collin Gosselin.