This is a book written from the information given by Princess Diana, not through hearsay or many parties removed. Her public smile so well known and captured in photos hides a young, attractive woman with a hurting heart crying out for help.
The Writing Process
For protection, Morton and Princess Di agreed not to ever meet publicly. Should she ever be interrogated, he wanted her to be able to say that she had never met with the author. Information was passed via a trusted go-between on secret tape recordings.
Morton wrote down questions and had them delivered to the Princess' residence. Only trusted/committed people were allowed to handle the correspondence. When Morton needed clarification regarding the information Princess Di revealed, phone calls from public telephone booths and scrambler phones were used. Both Morton and Princess Di feared investigation should either of their homes or offices be bugged.
As it were, Morton's study was broken into and the contents of it shuffled about during the time of the writing, close to the book's publication date. A camera was stolen. Whether the intruder was an investigative agent of the Crown or not was not known.
Pertinent Relevance of the Book
Secrets, especially those that hide or disguise dysfunction fail to be healthy for individuals, groups of individuals, or governing authorities. Both Princess Diana and Andrew Morton took risks in the writing and subsequent publishing of this book.
For Princess Diana, the published material helped her healing process. She suffered from multiple levels of trauma from the very beginnings of her life. Her story allowed her squelched sufferings an outlet.
She was known as, "the People's Princess", and as such, she wanted the people, her people, to be the judges of her life. She wanted her people to see her life as it really was, not as the media chose to present her, not as the facade that was slowly ripping her heart out.
Writing Style
The reading flows easily. Though loaded with facts, the author presents them in almost a storybook fashion with Princess Diana as the tragic heroine. The reader may want to reach out, give Princess Di a hug and offer her some form of respite/refuge. Her innocence and youth are brutally plunged into a harsh, royal reality of blame, betrayal and sorrow. Morton's book--is excellent!
There are many pictures from Princess Di's early years and adult years. Her captivating smile is almost always present despite her heartaches. She hid her internal pain well from the cameras.
This book is a must read for anyone interested in the life of Princess Diana, the Royal Family, dysfunctional families and/or systems in general, or eating disorders and self-destructive behaviors, replete with psychological and sociological themes.
Andrew Morton, the Author
Morton began writing about the Royal Family after Princess Diana and Prince Charles were wed. He is a well known British author and journalist. He has won numerous awards including Author of the Year.
Source
Andrew Morton, Diana Her True Story, In Her Own Words (Commemorative Edition), Simon and Schuster, Rockefeller Center, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, 1997. ISBN 0-684-85080-x
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