O’Donnell talked about the decision to allow Vivienne Rose and siblings Parker, Chelsea, and Blake to appear in the public eye.

“Before
9/11, I never showed their faces,” she said. “It was after 9/11 when I
realized you only have one choice in life: faith or fear. I was really
working in fear mode — I was worried somebody would take them or
something would happen to them. After 9/11, it was almost like the fear
bubble shattered and I realized that I don’t have any control, and all
you can do is love the people you love and tell people that
you do, as truthfully as you can.”

The documentary
addresses the reality of O’Donnell and Carpenter’s separation, which
O’Donnell confirmed in an interview late last year.

"Even
though Mommy Kelli and I aren't living in the same house anymore, we're
still a family,” O’Donnell says at the conclusion of the scene with
Vivienne Rose. “Family is forever. And family is love."

Geared
toward parents and children, the documentary features a soundtrack with
music from the likes of Ziggy Marley, Bonnie Raitt, and They Might Be
Giants. Animated musical sequences add to the fun, such as a number
called “My Science Project is Me,” which O’Donnell sings from the
perspective of a young girl conceived by in vitro fertilization.

“Don’t you wish you started life in a dish like me?” she asks.

A Family Is A Family Is A Family: A Rosie O’Donnell Celebration debuts Sunday, January 31, on HBO.