Submitted by Lisa Stewart, Feb 4, 2007 21:36

I have read Diana by Sarah Bradford and consider it the best biography in which Diana did not participate. I agree with the idea of a "reactive" Diana. If you look into what compels Diana to act, you will see it was ALWAYS as a means of defense. It is easy for anyone to insist that there were mental issue with this woman, however we must also always keep in mind that she did not live in the same environment as any of us, so therefore our assessment cannot apply. To compare her to Marilyn Monroe is not what I would do and yet I can certainly understand why a friend of Diana's might be cautious about what material to send her. If you have a friend who associates themself with someone who had destructive tendencies but who does not claim a parallel with those particluar tendencies, you would not want to put idea out that aren't helpful. Diana was never suicidal- she REACTED to situations for attention from a husband who had no idea how to be one, unless it was to another's wife! Suicidal people do not take physical care of themselves the way Diana did- she was a regular at the local gym and took regular exercise. She did suffer bulimia and post-natal depression, both of which were covered in Ms. Bradford's book. Anything written by Sally Bedell Smith cannot be taken seriously as you have a situation where she was packaging her own image of Diana when asking for diagnosis by doctor's who never met Diana. If you are asked, "If a person tries to commit suicide several times, what disorder do they suffer from?", as a doctor you can think of several diagnosises. Doesn't mean that is what the person actually had. Ms. Bradford relied on people who actually knew and spent much time with Diana on a daily basis. Surely these people were in a better position to recall the overall mental state of Diana? Even someone who is not a doctor can recognize mental illness when it stares them in the face and yet Ms. Bradford came away from this book with a different opinion of Diana than that in which she entered.

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