Book Addiction

Celebrity Detox (The Fame Game) by Rosie O’Donnell

Summary: Sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking, and always brutally honest, this is Rosie O’Donnell’s surprising account of the pain, regret, and euphoria involved in withdrawing from celebrity life–and the terrifying dangers of relapsing into the spotlight. Celebrity Detox is Rosie’s story of the years after she walked away from her top-rated TV show in 2002, and her reasons for going back on the air in 2006. In it, she takes you inside the world of talk-show TV, speaking candidly about the conflicts and challenges she faced as cohost on ABC’s The View. Along the way Rosie shows us how fame becomes addiction and explores whether or not it’s possible for an addict to safely, and sanely, return to the spotlight. Chronicling the ups and downs of “the fame game,” Rosie O’Donnell illuminates not only what it’s like to be a celebrity, but also what it’s like to be a mother, a daughter, a leader, a friend, a sister, a wife…in short, a human being.

My thoughts:

Well, first of all, the thing is that I absolutely, positively, no question about it, LOVE Rosie. I admire the way she voices her opinions, however controversial and questionable those opinions may be. I admire how she speaks the truth, her truth, in anything and everything she says. It’s just one of those things; I couldn’t care less what anyone else says about her, I see something so real and powerful in her that I am completely drawn to, and I really do love her and what she stands for.

So anyways, when her book came out, and the media had such a field day with it, twisting everything in the book around and around until it sounded completely deranged and whacked-out, I just knew there had to be more to the story than what was being portrayed. And of course, I was right. This book is, in my opinion, a very powerful statement about how celebrity-ness is sort of like a drug - it messes with even the most innocent of people and makes them want more, and apparently can truly alter and change who a person is. Rosie spoke about how fame has interfered with her life but also changed her life in wonderful ways that she obviously appreciates. She also wrote about her childhood - and how when a person with such an iffy childhood as she had gets put into the spotlight for people to either adore or detest you, it can really mess with your mind and the way you deal with things.

She also talked about Barbara Walters - now this is the stuff that really got attacked by the media. But the thing is, nothing she said about BW was actually negative. It was simply Rosie’s observations as she interacted with her throughout the year they worked together. And in Rosie’s opinion, the two women are actually friends - Rosie says she loves BW and BW loves her as well. The problem with what she wrote in the book is that she wrote some things people don’t really want to hear, such as Barbara is getting older (she is like 73 I think) and there comes a point at which people need to relax and basically, retire, and that BW has no intention of doing so and Rosie just thinks she is worn out and should be thinking about quitting. I mean, in my opinion, this is not a controversial statement - it’s completely accurate. How many 73 year olds work full time jobs? Not many.

Anyways, the point is that I really loved this book - Celebrity Detox did not disappoint. I’d highly recommend reading it, especially for anyone remotely interested in Rosie or the whole fame thing itself.