In the Shadow of Eight

The Preface begins with a memory in which Collin Gosselin, at 11 years old, was physically held down by unnamed adults. He establishes this as the first time his body stopped belonging to him. Collin introduces himself as a former star of the reality TV show Jon & Kate Plus 8, and he contrasts the public perception of his seemingly enviable childhood with the “shocking” reality that occurred behind the scenes. He argues that his story exposes a pattern of what happens when a child’s resistance is treated as a threat and adults resort to force instead of listening. Collin states that the book will reveal “what happened after the cameras stopped rolling” (xiv), including his experiences of being removed from his home, heavily medicated, and placed in facilities that he claims stripped away his identity. The memoir is framed as his act of reclaiming his voice after being told that his version of events didn’t matter.

Collin describes his early childhood, where his family’s home was a television set for the reality show Jon & Kate Plus 8. He recalls the show’s origins: In 2006, the family first appeared in a one-hour Discovery Health special called Surviving Sextuplets and Twins.