Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York

Biography

Sarah Ferguson first stepped on to the world stage in 1986 when she married Britain`s Prince Andrew, second son of Her Majesty The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh. The Duke and Duchess of York have two daughters, Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary of York and Princess Eugenie Victoria Helena of York. The Duke and Duchess divorced in 1996 after 10 years of marriage and they remain close as friends and as co-parents.

The Duchess is admired by many for her "comeback spirit" and for successfully balancing the responsibilities of motherhood and the demands of an international career that spans business, advocacy, publishing, broadcasting and film, philanthropy and public speaking.

In 2006 the Duchess formed Hartmoor, LLC, a lifestyle and wellness company based in New York. In the same year she established the Sarah Ferguson Foundation, Hartmoor`s philanthropic arm. The Duchess is also the founder and Life President of Children in Crisis, the London-based charity she established in 1993.

The Duchess is a bestselling author who has published numberous books on various subjects ranging from her autobiography to books on health, empowerment, history, art, as well as several children`s book series including Little Red, and the Budgie series, which was also animated for television.

Certainly among the world`s most interviewed women the Duchess has also found success on the reporting side of the media. In America she is a special correspondent for NBC`s Today Show and she has presented shows on other U.S. networks including ABC, FOX, and CNN. In the UK the Duchess has presented special programs on BBC, Sky TV and ITV, for which she has co-produced a two-part documentary about obesity which aired in 2008. The Duchess devotes much of her time to health advocacy. For 10 years she served as the spokesperson for Weight Watchers International. She frequently lends her support as spokesperson and advocate for public health campaigns by leading health organizations, such as the American Heart Association; the American Cancer Society; The Clinton Foundation`s Alliance for a Healthier Generation; the National Heart and Lung Institute; and The Ophelia Project. Additionally; The Duchess served as Global Ambassador for Ronald McDonald House Charities.

In the UK the Duchess is patron to the Teenage Cancer Trust, Tommy`s -- The Baby Charity; The African Caribbean Leukemia Trust; the Motor Neurone Disease Association; The Chemical Dependency Centre; Carr-Gomm; The Daisychain Foundation; and Springboard for Children.

The Duchess enjoys fitness training, writing, sketching, and photography. She is also a licensed private pilot.

Publications

Finding Sarah:
A Duchess`s Journey to Find Herself

FINDING SARAH is an extraordinarily personal memoir by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. As she spends time with Dr. Phil McGraw, she gains a new understanding of her relationship with herself and with others. Suze Orman helps Sarah unravel the poisonous money issues she suffers from. Martha Beck teaches her how let go of her negative self-image. Many other friends and experts populate these pages and you will meet them all.

Sarah`s journey, in so many ways, is everyone`s journey and as she shares her story with us she also shares the advice and wisdom she benefited from along the way. Her struggles with adversity have taught her that life`s lows can become a source of strength and courage. She knows, first hand, what it means to feel lost and she also knows that it is never too late to find your way back, to attain your goal, to take back control of your life and to make a special dream come true.

Through intimate diary excerpts and personal emails from friends and family, Sarah opens herself unsparingly. On every page of this book you will hear from Sarah`s friends and guides, her "real-life angels," as they help her get to the root of her problems -- from comfort eating to self-loathing, from reckless over-spending to notorious mishaps. You will learn from them, as she did. In this way, Sarah hopes not only to talk to you as a friend but to inspire you, through her own experiences, to look closely at your own life and where you wish to improve it, then to encourage you to follow your instincts and find your true path.

Sarah Ferguson did, and so can you.

Titles

Overcoming Adversity
Sarah Ferguson has faced numerous obstacles during her extraordinary life and in this very personal speech she talks candidly about some of her most formidable challenges, such as her parent's acrimonious divorce, her difficulty adjusting to official life as The Duchess of York, her despair over the unrelentingly vicious British press, the heartbreaking failure of her own marriage, and the burden of massive personal debt she took on as a single working mother. Sarah credits her faith, values, and devotion to family, for enabling her to navigate crisis and grow from life's experiences.

My Road to an Authentic Life
Sarah Ferguson describes herself a born people-pleaser. When her marriage into Britain's royal family thrust her onto the world stage she says her seeming inability to please everyone caused her to lose confidence and direction. Following her divorce in 1995 the Duchess says the process of starting a new life helped her to refocus, rebuild her esteem, and find the inner peace she thought she'd lost. In this speech the Duchess uses personal accounts to dramatize the differences between her former "inauthentic" life and the "authentic" life she lives today.

Motherhood & the Spirit of Caring
Nature provides mothers with a powerful instinct for caring. In this speech the Duchess shares her views on motherhood, based on her unique perspective as a hands-on mother of two royal princesses, as well as from her experiences as an international humanitarian who has witnessed extraordinarily caring and courageous mothers all over the world.

Risk & Self Discovery
Sarah Ferguson says that on the first day of her divorce it was as if all doors suddenly slammed shut. "If my marriage in a fishbowl had been disorienting, divorce for me was like being cut adrift in a raging sea." Faced with a staggering personal debt and with two young daughters to help raise, one thing was certain: Sarah needed to go out and earn a living and to do that she began commuting to work in America where she said people gave her a "second chance" and encouraged her to take risks while building a new career. In this inspiring speech the Duchess talks about how she broke with the past and learned to embrace risk for personal growth.