The Breaking Point
It’s giving main character energy, but not the fun kind. Collin Gosselin, who you might remember from Jon & Kate Plus 8, is getting real about a super dark period of his life in his new memoir, In the Shadow of Eight. The 22-year-old is opening up about the 21 months he spent at the Fairmount Behavioral Health System after his mom, Kate Gosselin, admitted him in 2016.
Real talk: he was going through it. In the book, Collin writes that after 18 months of what he called “chaos” and “being drugged into numbness,” he finally had enough. He reached out to a mental health professional at the facility, Dr. Jack Brown, to ask why he still wasn’t allowed to go home.
The Allegations
According to Collin, his simple question didn't go over well. He claims the doctor called for backup, and things escalated fast. Collin describes two male staff members pinning him to the floor, where he alleges Dr. Brown sat on his chest. After the physical confrontation, Collin says he was taken to his room, where he was pinned to his bed by five or six staffers and forcibly sedated with a medication patients dubbed “booty juice.”
“My mind went blank, my body still. I felt like a candle that had been blown out,” Collin wrote. Kate Gosselin has previously stated in 2023 that Collin was admitted “for the safety of myself, his brothers and sisters and for his own well-being.” When asked for comment for this story, reps for Kate did not respond. Fairmount Behavioral Health System noted in the book that they don't comment on individual patients, but emphasized they aim to provide a “total therapeutic environment.”
Why it matters
Collin eventually moved in with his dad, Jon Gosselin, in 2018, and has since graduated high school. His story shines a light on the intense realities of the behavioral health system, leaving many to wonder how these facilities are managed and why the vibes were so incredibly off for him during his stay.
