Maggie O'Farrell
Irish-British novelist
Last summer, swimming in a waterfall in Cumbria with my daughters.
When were you happiest?
Question
If you had only one day left to live, how would you spend it — and what would you deliberately avoid doing?
Death & what remains
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Asked in 52 of the 131 consecutive instalments of The Guardian's The Q&A harvested on 2026-08-29.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
When everyone else is happy.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 July 2012 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 581 →In the sea, somewhere hot. Looking back at people I love on the beach.
Meg Rosoff
American novelist
Swimming in the North Sea at midnight, surrounded by phosphorescence.
Marian Keyes
Irish writer
Last Tuesday, lying on the couch, watching Schitt’s Creek with my husband. Happiness is the small, ordinary days, not the big, up-in-lights ones.
More from Beth Ditto
View profile →I would still be at home. I wouldn’t want to travel anywhere because the roads would be chaos.
There are far too many to choose.
When Justin Bieber's management kicked us out of his rehearsal because they were afraid we'd laugh at him. I was actually super-excited.
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