Adam Kay: If you could revise one chapter of your past, what would you change?

The question

If you could revise one chapter of your past, what would you change?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

Repeated verbatim in The Guardian's long-running Saturday Q&A; two publisher-hosted examples establish recurrence.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Adam Kay

British comedy writer, author, youtuber, comedian and former physician

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

I could have done without being sexually assaulted, or having an eating disorder, or pushing myself to breaking point, but every chapter of my life brought me here.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗

Others on this question

View all 203 →

Eve Ensler American playwright, performer, feminist, and activist

I would have honoured my body, I would have lived inside it, cherished it and protected it.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 June 2019 source ↗

Joseph Fiennes English actor

Doc Brown proved that editing the past is disastrous.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 October 2008 source ↗

Sandi Toksvig Danish and British broadcaster, comedian and writer

I wouldn’t bother learning how to use logarithms, and I might give netball a miss.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 March 2018 source ↗

Katherine Parkinson English actor

I wish I hadn’t been a heavy smoker for so many years.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 12 September 2020 source ↗

More from Adam Kay

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Question What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy? Time & hindsight

In the one photo I’ve seen where my smile looks convincing – I’m four years old, so I’m guessing then. But I just won a Bafta and that felt amazing, too. So, roughly every 40 years.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗

Question Which trait in yourself do you like least? Identity & self

Self-destruction.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗

Question What is the worst job you have ever had? Craft & work

A comedy gig at an army barracks for thousands of angry, horny squaddies just back from six months in the desert. I was on straight after the stripper.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗