My Story (Duchess of York book)
My Story is the 1996 autobiography by Sarah, Duchess of York. It was written in the aftermath of Sarah's divorce from Prince Andrew, Duke of York.
It was published by Simon and Schuster in June 1996 for a reported advance of £800,000 to £1.5 million. The editor-in-chief of Simon and Schuster said that the book aimed to describe Sarah and her experiences "as they are rather than how they have been portrayed". Sarah was reportedly also offered another £1 million if she could help commit Diana, Princess of Wales to publishing a book.
The initial print run of My Story was 400,000. Sarah was interviewed on American television by Larry King, David Letterman, Oprah Winfrey, Rosie O'Donnell, and Diane Sawyer during her publicity tour for the book which was published in November 1996. Sarah told Sky News that she would not be interviewed by them unless they paid her £20,000. They refused, and after telling her that her attempt at blackmail would be a lead story, she subsequently relented. The Daily Mail challenged the factual accuracy of some of Sarah's statements in the book. My Story was serialised in Hello! magazine.
My Story competed against two other memoirs written by people close to Sarah that were released to coincide with her book. The Duchess of York: Uncensored was written by her faith healer Vasso Kortesis and David Leigh, and Fergie: Her Secret Life by her friend Allan Starkie.
Revelations in the book included Sarah's finding a 'worm like device' that she thought was a microphone planted by MI5 at her home. She wrote of her spending habits that "with Coutts behind me I played Santa all year long" as she accrued an overdraft of £3.3 million.