Diana in Search of Herself: Portrait of a Troubled Princess is one of the books about Diana, Princess of Wales. The book was written by best-selling author Sally Bedell Smith and was published by the Times Books in 1999.^[1][2] The book is the first authoritative biography of the Princess.^[3]

The 320-page book focuses on the troubled life of Princess Diana.^[2][4] Smith interviewed nearly 150 people whose reports are used in the book to narrate the life of the Princess.^[5] These people were mainly Diana's intimates, including British tabloid journalists.^[6] The book also featured 32 pages of unseen photographs of the Princess.^[7]

The most significant claim made in the book is that the Princess had suffered from borderline personality disorder.^[2][8] It also claimed that she could not manage her serious eating disorder and had difficulty sustaining relationships.^[9]

The book was included in the best seller lists of the following: The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today Top 50, The Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Newsday, Barnes & Noble and Publishers Weekly.^[10]

Linda L. Richards of the January Magazine stated that the book provides an unbiased and balanced portrait of the Princess.^[4][11] In a similar vein, the Newsweek review of the book indicated "Smith has done a remarkable job extracting what's genuinely pertinent and interesting about Diana...If you're going to read one Diana book, this should be it."^[10]

On the other hand, the author was criticized by Dorothy Packer-Fletcher because of her claim that Diana had been experiencing borderline personality disorder.^[12][13] Packer-Fletcher suggested that in order to establish this diagnosis there should have been a psychiatric examination.^[12] She further argued that the author's statement was harmful because it was a "posthumous diagnosis of mental illness".^[12]

The book became a bestseller and was also cited as controversial.^[13]