I Just Want You to Know: Letters to My Kids on Love, Faith, and Family

Title: I Just Want You To Know: Letters to My Kids on Love, Faith and Family
Author: Kate Gosselin
Series: None
Genre: Non-Fiction


I've always liked (Jon and) Kate plus Eight. From their first TV Special, I was amazed at this family and how they handle their multiples. When it was on TV weekly, it was one of my favorite shows. They get a lot of crap, and I don't agree with most of it. I still enjoy watching the show and do so when they have their specials.

This book was written sometime after Kate became a single Mom. It's mentioned a few times in the letters to her kids, but I was amazed at the lack of hostility towards Jon. I hadn't been sure when it was written, until it specifically mentioned her being a single mom.

I found this to be a heartwarming and open sit down with Kate. Sure there was the information that I already knew from the show, but less so then the first book. I was horrified to read how before they moved, their mailbox was often broken/vandalized and their house frequently egged. Right before they moved, their tires were being slit and Kate was afraid to let her kids out of the house. I understand that she choose to put her kids in the spotlight, but I don't think that should be an invitation to be mean.

The reviews on amazon are fairly horrible. They say the book is about Kate, what she's had to give up and how she's had to cope with her family. To them I think....what did you expect? Of course she's had to give things up, you try having 8 kids. This book talked a lot about the planning that she and Jon had to do to go anywhere and the accomplishment they felt when they did it smoothly (or not so smoothly). I felt like it was definitely some behind the scenes of the early years, when we got to read about what went far from right. How she wanted a normal family and didn't get it.

We "know" Kate by now, were the amazon reviewers expecting....what? A book about how much she loves her children, not how they changed her life, what she's had to give up and how they've had to make things work? Hopefully, she's telling her children and not just writing it in a book, because they are the ones that need to hear it.

Interesting though - I wonder what Kate's Love Language is?