What has been your biggest disappointment?

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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Recorded Judith Kerr said elsewhere, not written here
Not having longer legs.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 May 2019 source ↗

Others on this question

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Tony Ross British writer of children's books
Being continually overlooked in awards ceremonies and honours lists.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 April 2013 source ↗
Irvine Welsh Scottish novelist
There’s been the odd beauty on the dance floor I really ought to have gone home with.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 24 December 2016 source ↗
Philippa Dunne
I started my career not getting jobs, but then you learn that 95% of this job is not getting jobs, and you just have to make peace with it.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 June 2026 source ↗
Jenna Coleman English actress
Receiving a letter saying I didn’t get into drama school. I felt like Billy Elliot. It was a crushing moment.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 16 February 2019 source ↗

More from Judith Kerr

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Question Who most deserves an apology from you, and why? Failure & regret
My parents. We didn’t realise how absolutely desperate they were when we left Germany, because my father couldn’t earn anything. A letter turned up fairly recently in which he said, “We’ve been through a terrible time because Julia [my mother] never stopped talking about suicide and not just for herself, but to take the children with her.”
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 May 2019 source ↗

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Kwame Kwei-Armah, Jonathan Safran Foer, Viv Albertine, Tony Ross, Rose Tremain, Marian Keyes

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