An extraordinary life story of success, setbacks and survival set in
London's Swinging Sixties, the crazy, drug-fueled Hollywood of the '70s
and the New York/London fashion scene of the '80s and '90s by one of the
real-life inspirations for Absolutely Fabulous.
"I read Free Spirit all in one go as I literally couldn't put it down.
Tanya Sarne's courage and resilience are utterly awe-inspiring. You
could read no better book than this on the zeitgeist of London and
Hollywood in the Sixties and Seventies and the fashion world of the
Eighties and Nineties." Joanna Lumley
"Wherever it was at, Tanya seemed to be. This is an honest, amusing
depiction of life as founder of Ghost, the British fashion brand much
loved by woman of all shapes and ages. As well as navigating life
through the Sixties and onwards, here is a story of a woman boss
juggling motherhood, marriage, romance and every other thread of life's
rich tapestry." Alexandra Shulman
"'Inspiring, intelligent, brave, plain spoken and wild, Tanya Sarne's
memoir tells the story of a woman who is tirelessly optimistic,
brilliantly pragmatic and fiercely true to herself. At once a fighter
and a dreamer, she has overcome the challenges her personal and
professional life have thrown at her with extraordinary tenacity, humor
and grace." Susannah Frankel
"She just makes clothes that people like to wear" - Grace Coddington
Reading like a real-life Daisy Jones and the Six, Tanya Sarne's story
is so much more than simply an account of incredible international
fashion success (and excess). The child of refugee parents, her life
ranged from the London of the Swinging Sixties to the glamour and
darkness of Hollywood, to virtual destitution and abandonment with two
small children in a Brazilian fishing village before she even dreamt of
starting her own business. Hers is a tale of extraordinary resilience,
of second and third chances capped by global fashion success as the
founder of Ghost.
From busking with Andrew Loog Oldham before he managed the Rolling
Stones, to being invited to stay with Sharon Tate the night of the
Manson murders, to being (with her daughter and Lynne Franks) the
inspiration for Absolutely Fabulous, Tanya is one of those people who
seems to have fitted more into one life than most of us would fit into
nine.
Above all though she is that still all too rare thing, a female
entrepreneur who achieved true global success solely as a result of her
own hard work and talent and entirely on her own terms.
"If there's a woman out there who doesn't have an old Ghost dress
hanging in her wardrobe can you please tell me exactly what you were
wearing in the nineties?" - Alyson Walsh, @thatsnotmyage
"You just wanted to be part of Tanya's gang because she was quite
magnetic...And she was really kind too. And really funny. She put a good
crowd together. And she's honest." - Sam McKnight
"Tanya had an amazing life in Hollywood. She was a real survivor. And
then she sort of knew nothing about fashion and she found herself in the
fashion business just to pay the rent and survive. And then from there,
she built up her own business. It's an amazing, remarkable success
story." - Lynne Franks
