Joshua Ferris: What disappointment has stayed with you longest?

The question

Originally asked

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

This exact question recurs in The Guardian's institutional Q&A pool.

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Joshua Ferris

American author

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

My failure to come to grips with all these disappointments.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 29 January 2011 source ↗

Others on this question

Paul Hollywood English baker and chef

That I stopped martial arts 20 years ago.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 April 2014 source ↗

Not being a scratch golfer.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 12 July 2025 source ↗

I really wanted a role in Harry Potter and I never got one.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 May 2026 source ↗

Minnie Driver British and American actress

I thought that I would become more mature about certain things, and it didn’t happen.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 February 2023 source ↗

Thomas Pynchon, for his sentences.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 29 January 2011 source ↗

Whenever it was, I didn't realise it fully.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 29 January 2011 source ↗

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