Sarah Ferguson has spent the majority of her adult life in the spotlight as a member of the British royal family. 

The Duchess of York, 61, was married to Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth's second son, from 1986 to 1996 and shares two daughters Princess Eugenie, 31, and Princess Beatrice, 32, with her ex. 

"Someone asked me, 'If you were an astronaut and you could take all the pressure off you, would you leave behind Fergie and Sarah and the Duchess and your past mistakes and failings?'" Ferguson told People magazine while promoting her new novel, "Her Heart for a Compass."

Prince Andrew and his then-wife Sarah Ferguson and their two daughters, Eugenie, bottom left, and Beatrice on February 19, 1999.

Prince Andrew and his then-wife Sarah Ferguson and their two daughters, Eugenie, bottom left, and Beatrice on February 19, 1999. (AP)

"And I said, 'What are you talking about? They're all my friends.' I made friends with past mistakes. I made friends with Fergie. She didn't know any better. And then Sarah. That's why we experiment," she reasoned. "How is it that we're meant to be knowledgeable when we don't know? My Fergie, my Duchess, my Sarah: They're all good people."

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Ferguson's debut novel is based on one of her actual ancestors, Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott.

"In researching her, I found out more about my own DNA, and I found that resilience and courage and sense of hope and optimism," she revealed. 

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Ferguson added how she's now living a more authentic life and exploring different projects. "I have to be aware that trying to be perfect is no longer necessary," she said, "and that actually being Sarah is just enough."

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"Her Heart for a Compass" is available on August 3.