Rosie makes it sound so easy, but of course it wasn’t. She paid her dues in heartbreaks and Big Breaks gone bad. Welcome to her life. You’re invited to live in Rosie O’Donnell’s life for a while, to find out what she believes in and what she fears, who she loves and who she doesn’t. Begin to appreciate the grit and determination she possessed to climb to the pinnacle of her profession — and what she overcame to get there. To empathize with Rosie O’Donnell, know that for twenty-two years she walked around with a giant, gaping hole in her heart. From the time of her mother’s death just before her eleventh birthday, until the day she adopted her son when she was thirty-three, Rosie tried, but could not fill up the emptiness in her soul. At her core still dwells a motherless girl searching for undying love.

To understand Rosie O’Donnell, experience how she transcended tragedy with laughter and lies. At an early age she mastered the role of the jester, and it became her ticket to stardom, her route into our hearts.

To discover the real Rosie O’Donnell, witness the immense love she feels for her son and share in the joy this child infuses into her life.

To enjoy Rosie O’Donnell, watch her at home and in her office and see that her inner child is now alive and well and making up for lost time. She lives and works in playgrounds of her own design, surrounded by dolls and games and by thousands of Happy Meal toys — talismans in her quest for a happy life. She will show you her original Marie Osmond doll if you ask.

To appreciate Rosie O’Donnell, realize she is as complex — and simple — as she seems: brassy yet tender, bold yet shy, bossy yet meek, secretive yet open. She has three homes, yet no live-in nanny. She owns Helen Hayes’ former mansion, yet still shops at K-Mart. Her best friends include the most famous woman in the world and a classmate from kindergarten.

Listen to Rosie O’Donnell and learn she was born to nurture — causes both large and small. She gives endlessly of her time and money to the many charities she supports, and she buys a huge supply of birdseed to fill her many feeders each winter.

Study Rosie O’Donnell and follow her to the Oscars — resplendent in borrowed diamonds — and then to the hardware store for a childproof latch. Her star is as bright as they get in show business, but her life is as down to earth as her roots in Commack, Long Island.