Celebrity Detox: (The Fame Game) by Rosie O'Donnell
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Book Reviews of Celebrity Detox: (The Fame Game)
Book Review: Really Great - Very Quick Read and Powerful
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an exceptionally well written book. As a fan of Rosie's blogs, I didn't know what to expect, but she is not just an average writer. She writes with incredible honesty and almost artistic prose. I am yet another person who picked this up in the bookstore, tried to find out what happened on the day of the big fight with Elizabeth, and read the whole thing...and I am normally a very slow reader (and I hate reading for pleasure because I am in graduate school and have enough to read!) Anyway, unless I missed it - she actually skipped the Elizabeth fight. She did include the Kelly Rippa feud, the Ching Chong issue, and of course Donald Trump. Her opinions on him are made much more clear and the whole thing has so much more context now. The subsequent fallout from the Trump debacle (specifically, her relationship with Barbara Walters) was actually a big piece of this book, as she tied it back to betrayal issues with her own mother when she was being abused by a man.
Like the other reviewers said, the book gives a lot of insight into the real Rosie. She is clearly not this caricature portrayed in the news for the last year. Also, the book (like her) has also been poorly represented in the media. She does not really call Barbara Walters "tired." She's not unaware that she has abandonment issues, and sees Barbara Walters as a mother figure. It's a big part of what she talks about. (Some news show psychologist was psychoanalyzing Rosie and Barbara in this manner, but Rosie actually described the issue better herself.) The passage about Walters being "tired" is taken out of context from a letter to her brother where she writes about the *entire* situation on the View. She felt like the new kid in school - but a new kid that drives a Mercedes (I believe that was the exact line.) They asked her to be herself - but then to stay in a box at the same time. At some point, she talks about Barbara in the context of the overall view environment. In another page of brutal honesty, she admits that she believed Donald Trump's claim that Barbara Walters said that she regretted hiring her. The emotional carnage of this kind of betrayal (after past betrayals by her mother which she goes into) is pretty rough.
This is not 150 pages of Rosie whining and playing the victim really. It is a very behind-the-scenes look at a very complex woman (and a complex show) who is possibly more in touch with her emotions than anyone I've ever seen. She has an understanding of interpersonal dynamics that is remarkable. She may come across a little self important and emotionally strange at times, but that's how it is. For example, she e-mailed Elizabeth "I love you and I'll always protect you" at one point - in response to a little change that Elizabeth made in one of the show's segments. Rosie also saw Elizabeth's emerging independence (taking out the earpieces that they wear on the show) as a sign that she was converting her to be a better person or something. Maybe that was a little over the top.
I can see why she does not want to do interviews about this book. The stories and emotions in here are raw. Not everything is included, and if she were interviewed, it would be likely that she'd be taken into areas that she's not ready to discuss. She reveals something about a man coming into her room at night, and leaves it vague. It's pretty obvious that some kind of sexual abuse occurred, and I am still confused about whether or not her mother believed her when it kept happening after they cut down the tree (where the man supposedly came in from) - but those details are not really the point. The point is to think about her feelings when she told her mother that a man was abusing her and was told "you lie like a rug."
Book Review: Life after fame isn't always Rosie
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an unprecedented book by an unprecedented Star!
Just like Rosie O'Donnell, "Celebrity Detox" is candid, humorous at times, compassionate, clever, and incredibly thought-provoking. If you think you know everything about Ro, you will be surprised after reading this. And, if you detest Ro and believe that she is the antichrist then you will also get a new understanding of the real Ro. Because she is nothing at all like that lunatic the press portray her as.
You can you say what you want about Rosie O'Donnell. I am sure there is nothing she hasn't heard and there's nothing she cannot take. But you cannot read "Celebrity Detox" and call Ro a coward. In the book, Ro courageously discusses her life after hitting it big and how her brief stint on "The View" came to a thunderous halt. This is the first book ever written by an A-list star that frankly details their own fame in such a forthright and impartial way. Through "Celebrity Detox," Ro has forever ripped that mysterious veil of secrecy off of the MSM.
As Ro has said, she wants to "let the book speak for itself." Who else can write a best-seller without doing any type of promotion? Ro doesn't care about being popular or about making lots of money or being famous. Maybe that's why she was able to write such a riveting and original book? This book was not written for money or for attention (another myth that the media tries to pass off as "fact.") All the proceeds from "Celebrity Detox" are going to Ro's Broadway Kids foundation. I wonder if a certain big-mouth billionaire gives even a tenth of what Ro does?
"Celebrity Detox: (The Fame Game)" is somewhat of a follow-up to Ro's extremely successful NY Times Bestseller, Find Me. It's hard to say which book I prefer because they are both works of art. Maybe that's also why Ro is so controversial (and unconventional?) Because art always attracts mixed feelings and is usually subjective. To some, they could be looking at a beautiful rose, and to others they might see something terrifying. Perhaps through her writings, Ro is trying to convey that art can be whatever you make of it?
Like a fine hand-made wicker basket, this book is woven together very intricately. Ro discusses her childhood in certain passages that may have a prevalence or a similarity to her most recent situations. There are parts of this book that are very sad, shocking and extremely tragic. Ro is especially delicate in these passages. But, Ro is nothing if not (always) candid. She gets it all out in "Celebrity Detox." And, Rosie doesn't care what the repercussions are because she has the truth on her side!
If you enjoyed Ro's latest book, I also recommend Find Me and Ro's 2006 documentary All Aboard: Rosie's Family Cruise. And I also recommend, Journal Revolution: Rise Up and Create! Art Journals, Personal Manifestos and Other Artistic Insurrections which includes some of Ro's art!
I have come to really admire Rosie because she gave so much of herself in this book. And, Ro gives me hope. She gives me hope that there are still decent people out there. She gives me hope that people still care. She gives me hope that no matter what life befalls there can still be mirth and a promise of a new start. Rosie O'Donnell is my shero.
Book Review: Rosie...PURE YELLOW
Summary: 5 Stars
Rosie is one of those people...you know what I mean, you either love her or you hate her...My question is this and I'm really asking...I wonder why SO MANY people hate her SO MUCH?? I remember learning in kindergarten that HONESTY is the BEST policy. And seeing as this country in SO celebrity obsessed, you would think more people would enjoy Rosie's frank honesty. You don't have to like her politics...polictics are tricky, but geez... you have to respect her honesty. Celebrity Detox is no exception. It is the MOST HONEST, REAL, and RAW memoir I think I've ever read. Rosie pulls no punches while speaking about her very public experience on The View (which I only watched because of her and have stopped watching since her departure) I feel that I take everything with a grain of salt, but if you watched The View last year, and really watched it, you can pinpoint the moments on TV that Rosie discusses in her book. And let me tell ya, you can't diagree with her. When watching those four ladies discuss the trials and tribulations of Lindsey's latest drinking binge, I often remembered Barbara Walter's REPETITIVE reminders about why she wanted to create The View..."I always wanted to do a show with different women from different backgrounds discussing relavant and important topics...blad blah blah..." And yet as soon as they hired Rosie, asked to moderate this round table format and AFTER knowing what they know about how she operates, let her loose so to speak, Barbara seemed to shut off completely...Why? Because there was TOO much discussion about important topics by different women with different backgrounds? Or too much that didn't fit into The View's agenda? Was there too much inturruption or moderation from Rosie when it came to Bill Getty's (The View's Exec Producer) grooming of America's silliest goose Elizabeth Hasselbeck into the next great Fox News Puppet? For the amount of time Barbara STILL spends perverbially patting herself on the back as to why she created The View, she seemed to have forgotten this ground breaking format while Rosie moderated and almost literally thumbed her nose at these women by often speaking up and over everyone just to "calm" them down because she didn't like the frankness of Rosie O'Donnell. The most ironic thing about the hire of Rosie by Barbara is that she did so AFTER a screening of her documentary about her same sex family friendly cruise line! Barbara???!!!! C'Mon? What did you think you were signing on for when you boarded the Rosie O'Donnell ship? Ratings...that's what...and you got them...and Rosie got a great book out of it...all proceeds from Celebrity Detox go to Rosie's foundation by the way...Like rosie has mentioned on her blog...I wonder how much of that QVC Trump Steak money goes to starving children in Africa...hmmmm...Whatever. Get the book. It's a great read from an HONEST person and TRUE artist.Book Review: Worth the wait? YES!
Summary: 5 Stars
Let me first start off by saying that I am a huge fan of Rosie's and have been for quite some time. Remember a little show named, "Gimme a Break", where she played Maggie the dental hygienist neighbor in the last season? I sure do, because she was hysterical. Why does this matter? I wanted for the record to freely admit how much I have enjoyed her over the years, and will continue to for many years to come. I was prepared to give this book a favorable review long before reading it. I knew ahead of time it would receive at least 3 or 4 stars from me just out of respect to Rosie and all that she has to say.
After reading this book, I have no choice but to give it 5 out of 5 stars because it is fantastically written, and unabashedly honest. I love that.
Rosie is a very artful story teller with a keen sense for telling it like it is. I do not believe you have to be a fan of hers, and certainly I do not believe that you have to agree with what she has to say to appreciate this book. She tells a story as she sees it, from her point of view. Period.
Some reviewers feel that she doesn't delve deep enough into things leaving the reader guessing and wanting more. Not this reader. I do not need graphic details or soul baring dissertations on what awful things obviously happened to her as a child. It is simply not necessary. What is important is that she survived, is here, and is present.
Is Rosie a loud mouth? Sometimes. Does she find it necessary to get the last word in? It would seem so. Is this part of why I adore her? Absolutely. More people need to speak up, and out about the things that they simply can not wrap their heads around.
The woman is intelligent, well spoken, ridiculously funny, and extremely profound in her own way. She gives all of her heart and soul to what she believes in, and sets an example for the rest of us.
Rock on Ro, the world needs you and others like you.
Book Review: Excellent look inside The View
Summary: 5 Stars
The book was delivered to me yesterday. I sat down after dinner expecting to read a few chapters before going to bed. By midnight, I had finished it.
This book is an honest - brutally honest - look at her strengths and her shortcomings along with a lot of information about her experience at The View. She takes a very fair look at her apprehension about and difficulty with working with others (she never had to before The View) and gives a lot of insight into her relationship with her family. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in or fascinated by the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of celebrity.
Rosie O'Donnell is an American hero. She has continued to stand up for what she believes in despite continued uninformed lies and distortions about her that are reported NIGHTLY on both entertainment and so-called news shows. She has bravely screamed about the injustice of the war and the corruption of the Bush Administration while the media has stood meekly by and allowed an unjust war to continue and our civil rights to be eroded without question. She sat quietly by while NO ONE in the media took the time to report on the unbelievable amount of time and money she devotes to charitable causes. Instead, our great media chose to give that misogynist pig Donald Trump unlimited airtime to lauch his vicious attacks on her (and indirectly on ALL WOMEN). She has, ironically, been a model of class and dignity in the face of unbelievable unfairness.
Shame on you Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric and Oprah Winfrey. I would have - at the very least - expected one or all of you to stand up for her.
Good work out of you, Rosie. You should be very proud of yourself.