Ronald Harwood
South African playwright and novelist
The death of my wife: I’d happily have gone first.
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Question
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Daily life
Question
Who most deserves an apology from you, and why?
Failure & regret
Question
When was the last time you changed your mind about something?
Change of mind
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Craft & work
Question
Which book are you ashamed not to have read?
Taste & recommendation
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.
I would get therapy in my early 20s.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 June 2025 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 205 →
George Michael
English singer-songwriter
I should have sung with David Gilmour at Carnegie Hall because I'm a massive fan of Pink Floyd.
Samuel West
British actor, theatre director, and narrator
I’d have done everything earlier and with more style.
Jo Brand
English entertainer
I’d have told a racist cabbie to go fuck himself, but I was scared about being chucked out on the street at 2am.
More from Marina Diamandis
View profile →Getting rid of my phone.
Myself. I didn’t know how to protect myself adequately when I was younger, and I think I would have experienced my youth differently if I had.
A year ago. My understanding of what love is has changed immensely since.
My late 20s, writing my third record.
Being delusional and dreaming big.
None! We shouldn’t shame people for not having read “the greats”. There are always new greats emerging that may feel more relevant to our life experience, particularly female writers.
More on failure & regret
- What has been your biggest disappointment? 369 answers
- Who most deserves an apology from you, and why? 209 answers
- What is the worst thing anyone has said to you? 124 answers
- Which moment embarrassed you most? 124 answers
- How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a favourite failure? 77 answers
- What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? 39 answers
Also answered this
Adam Kay, Emma Barnett, Brandi Carlile, Eddie Marsan, Alison Steadman, Burt Reynolds
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All failure & regret questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject