Rating: 
Summary: A Pathetic Rosie
Review: In reading this book I felt a deep sense of sadness for Rosie. I too lost my mother at a young age, not as young as Rosie, and I believe you never really get over the lost of a parent, perhaps especially a mother, but Rosie seems not to be able move past her mom's death. I found it very hard to believe that she would continue her relationship with Melissa/Stacie/Kate after realizing the truth. The book seemed to go no where. I'm not sure what was the point of writing it to begin with. It left me feeling empty and thinking to myself, Rosie has some major issues. If she is not the TV host, is she the author of this book? And the author of this book scared me a little. It was a quick read, because I kept thinking at some point things will begin happening. Nothing every developed. At least the proceeds from the book are going toward a charity, otherwise, I would have felt like I just wasted [$]...
Rating: 
Summary: VERY disappointing
Review: I was expecting a book about Rosie's climb to success. Instead, I read a book that should be called "Celebrity Obsession." I consider myself a caring and compassionate person; but there are limits to my caring. And I certainly wouldnt put my friends and family on hold to be there for someone 24/7 which I have never met before.
Not only that, but the book seemed to shift back and forth to the present, dreams that I am assume we are supposed to interpret and how she felt about her mother. I think that she should have chosen one of these topics and stuck with it throughout the entire book.
Rating: 
Summary: Find It!
Review: Certainly not your standard celebrity-penned autobiography (as a matter of fact, hardly an autobiography at all), O'Donnell tells a story of an unusual experience she has had the past year or so, with flashes of her childhood thrown in from time to time. O'Donnell speaks from the heart in sharing this freakish story, with an equal balance of tears and laughter. She doesn't share all, nor go in to deep with either part of the book - her experience or her childhood - but still leaves the reader satisfied with what she tells. Perhaps at a later date, she will share another experience with more in-sight to just who she is. Much better as a writer than editor of the ill-conceived magazine which bears her name.
Rating: 
Summary: Rosie, finally, we know ye
Review: Steven T. Delahoyde, once again, is leading Amazon viewers astray with a purely incompetent, and, may I add, infantile review of this tome. Can I use the word "tome"? Because I'd really like to.Rosie's writing chops are even more amazing than the way she filled out her leather S&M outfit in "A League of Their Own." Has she ever considered starting a book club of her own? I don't mean a book club in which she recommends other author's books--a book club where it is mandatory for all her fans, and, possibly, all Americans, to read her books. Mr. Delahoyde obviously misses the point of the gnomes in her book as a reference towards the rampant McCarthyism that ran through the O'Donnell household during her childhood. If he could take off his blinkers for a moment, he'd see that Rosie's showing us a darker part of our American history using the amazingly subtle tool of metaphor (this metaphor being, of course, your average happy-go-lucky garden gnome.) The fact that Steve suggests that Ms. O'Donnell is 'cashing in' on the Lord of the Rings series is simply ludicrous. If possible, it's clear that J.R.R. Tolkien had some sort of ability to see into the future, saw Rosie's use of gnomes in her literature, and stole it from her. I think that it's ridiculous that he's been able to get away with it for this long. Mr. Delahoyde, get with the program! To anybody confused with Ms. O'Donnell's liberal use of science fiction in her book, I recommend that they read and take notes on her lesser-known works, "An In-Depth Examination of Dante's Spiral of Hell," "Gynecology for Amateurs" and "I Know Tom Cruise," and then perhaps the rest will make a bit more sense. Refusing to do so and then commenting on this book is simple laziness and uninformed misanthropy. Rosie, you did it again. When you come out of seclusion from your secret compound deep at the center of the Earth, I, and the rest of your true fans will welcome you with open arms.
Rating:
Summary: Huge Disappointment. !!!!!
Review: I just finished reading this book and I feel very short changed. I bought this book because I'm a HUGE Rosie fan, and expected an autobiography to tell me about her? Call me silly I know...but come on! This was the farthest thing from that. The book was very short, and the print was so HUGE I felt like it was written for a nearly blind person. There are a lot of empty pages in there to make it seem bigger. You can definately read this in an afternoon. She did hightlight some on her childhood and about her Mom, but the vast majority of the book was about her relationship with a woman with multiple personalities who totally duped Rosie. She just kept going on and on about this person. I was expecting to read about how she adopted her kids, her being gay, her relationship with Kellie, her brother/sisters, etc. She really didn't touch on any of that. I'm sorry, but this was not anything like I'd expected when I bought the book. I'm sorry but I can also NOT recommend this to anyone else. Buy it at your own risk! You've been warned.
Rating:
Summary: I commend Rosie for opening her heart!!!
Review: Rosie has once again impressed me....I have been a fan of hers since High School when I saw her on comedy central every couple of days....then she premiered her show and I watched it religiously....she has a way about her...she heals through laughter, fundraising, etc....she is a true role model as to how human beings should treat one another!!! This book is provocative, emotional, heartwrenching, some humour, tearful, but above anything, it opens Rosie up to us in a way we have never seen on tv and shows us how special life is and how trying to understand one another is the key to peace....way to go Rosie! I hope you write more!!!
Rating:
Summary: Someone needs to educate Rosie about Boundaries!
Review: I have been a Rosie follower since the beginning. I waited with great anticipation for this book. I found it disappointing. While there were some poignent moments in this book, largely it was something that really didn't need to be shared with the public. I understand wanting to help someone, wanting to make a difference in a life, but NOT at the expense of close family and friends. To say that this obsession mattered more than friends was really telling -- but I wish she wouldn't have told us. There are healthy ways to help another person and there are unhealthy ways. This was definitely an example of the latter. Maybe Rosie should read "Boundaries" by Cloud and Townsend. If anybody needs to, it is her. Rosie's book could have helped people a great deal if she'd have shown that she learned something about co-dependent behavior and was willing to make some changes in her life. But this left me feeling that she would likely repeat this same scenario over and over again in her life - and to he** with those who get in her way. How sad. She really seems to "get it" but then doesn't seem to know what to do about it. Perhaps my reaction is because I have been where she is - unable to set healthy boundaries when it comes to getting involved with other people's problems -- and I know there is a better way. I hope for her sake, and those around her, that she finds this out for herself.
Rating:
Summary: Poor Rosie?
Review: I received a big surprise when I read this book. I didn't realize it was a "poor me " book.
Times have been rough for all of us Rosie, at one time or another.
I am very sorry she lost her mother at such an early age but I don't think it anymore devastating than watching your mother slowly descending into mental illness why you are growing up.
At least her mother was at peace and not going through a "hell" for ten years.
The book points out that she apparently thought herself educated enough to give this sick woman advice. My advice to Rosie is grow up and get over it.
God has a plan for all of us.
Rating: 
Summary: More Confusing Than The Books Previous
Review: I have long been a fan of Ms. O'Donnell, from her television program to her work in movies, and even when she was hocking wares for heartless multi-national corporations, but unfortunately, her literary endeavors just confuse the heck out of me. I thought the book began well with a clever introduction that was wrought with deeply personal information and a tone of disparity, yet somehow still filled with hope. And all was well through this, I even found myself unable to put the book down. But then, right from the get-go in Chapter Four, she starts introducing gnomes and she, in my mind, completely lost the steam the novel had at that point gathered up. Certainly, I have nothing against fantasy or science fiction based literature, but it seems out of place here, in what seems an attempt at an autobiography. Maybe she's just trying to cash in on "The Lord of the Rings" franchise in having lengthy discussions with Gruedur the Elfin King about what to do when her children were misbehaving, or perhaps she was persuaded by the publishing house to include a trip to the Forbidden Realm to unlock the secrets of the Island of Mysteriouso. Whatever the reasoning behind this is, it makes the reader question both the message of the piece, as well as Ms. O'Donnell's sanity. I mean, really, what can one think when Rosie utters (in Chapter Eight), "I don't know what more I can do for Stacie! Perhaps Smitthy the Articulate Earthworm might be able to help! Yes, I will make haste to his secret lair immediately!" What makes this all so frustrating is the understanding that this could have been such a good, honest, albeit short, book had any of this extraneous material been left out. Instead of teaching Stacie how to fly using her magic fairy dust, maybe she could have explained how she'd simply spoken to Stacie in an attempt to help the young girl find herself. And instead of her fictitious battles with the countless number of fire-breathing dragons or ogres, maybe she could have explained her heated arguments with the network executives. She seems to think that analogies from sword-and-sorcery materials are the only way in which a story can be told. Unfortunately, they come across as muddled or contextually absurd (i.e. there are very few remaining warlocks in Florida). Although this book was disappointing, to be honest it was no great surprise. Her previous book, "Kids are Funny" was also filled with this sort of imagery, with a child saying something sweetly humorous only to be quickly devoured by a maniacal goblin. Or in her "Bosom Buddies : Lessons and Laughter on Breast Health and Cancer" in which she constantly restates, "THE WINGED SERPENTS OF MALOCAR DO NOT GET BREAST CANCER" (yes, the all bold type is hers). With that understood, and with a reader who is willing to take the time to translate her analogies, metaphors, or even her occasional bursts of ancient Icelandic text, one can come to figure out the basic messages in Ms. O'Donnell's work. But for the vast majority of the people who pick up this book, they will find themselves either sufficiently disappointed by the piece, or simply find it far too confusing. Best to stick with the magazine or the TV show.
Rating:
Summary: Get over it , already
Review: Like Rosie's the only person in the world whose lost a parent at a young age? This is one of those books, which if it didn't have a celebrity name on the cover, would have a difficult time finding a publisher. Poorly written, even more poorly conceived, this book is one large waste of paper. Deal with it Rosie, then get over it already. Even the library should save its money on this one.
|
