In My Story, The Duchess of York writes about what it was like to be a member of the most famous and most scrutinized family in the world: Britain's Royal Family. In a voice that is warm, strong, and always rueful, she tells of the events that catapulted "a country girl" into a fairy-tale existence, and about the dark forces - within both the Palace and herself - that made it impossible to sustain.

As Sarah would soon discover, she was a natural person in a world where spontaneity is hidden, a candid person in a setting where truth could be hard to find. In the end, she was ground down. Her marriage ended - not because two people had stopped loving each other, but because they were undermined by a ruthless tabloid press and others.

My Story is an insider's tale, written with remarkable frankness. As she looks back on those gilt-edged years, however, Sarah takes responsibility for "the trail of destruction" that she left in her wake. Yes, there were external elements that brought her great hurt, but her greatest enemy was herself. Her own insecurities would propel her out of public favor and into shame and disfavor.

After teetering on the brink of self-destruction, she has found the inner power to pull herself back, then move ahead. In the end, her story is one of recovery; it is affirmative and inspirational.