Irvine Welsh
Scottish novelist
When a pal grabbed hold of me as I fell into an unbanistered stairwell at a rave. Would have been curtains, but for his sharp reaction.
How close have you come to death?
Question
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Craft & work
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
A recurring Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
My sister saved me from drowning. I shouted at her because she pulled me out of the pool and hurt my arm.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 January 2018 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 209 →
Ram Dass
Spiritual teacher and author
I was close to death, and I didn't rush into my spirit. I spent the time in the hospital just looking at the pipes on the ceiling. ... I failed because this was a trauma, a trauma, and I'm not reacting to it spiritually.
Brendan Gleeson
Irish actor and director
Getting knocked down by a bus. The experience left me with the exhilaration of life enhanced.
Michael Stipe
American singer
Scarlet fever, 1962. Hypothermia, 1974. Lightning strike, 1986.
More from Sarah Millican
View profile →That I turned a broken heart into a career. That I hit rock bottom and bounced back up a lot higher.
The day our rescue dog came for a visit. I burst into tears. And my (most recent) wedding, of course.
My mam, dad and sister, who have all been through an incredible amount. They’ve all had health problems and have come through with strength, grace and positivity.
More on death & what remains
- What would you like to be remembered for? 215 answers
- What song would you like played at your funeral? 178 answers
- If you had only one day left to live, how would you spend it — and what would you deliberately avoid doing? 54 answers
- What happens when we die? 51 answers
- What would you like to leave your children? 45 answers
- How would you like to die? 44 answers
Also answered this
Esther Freud, John Lewis, Yann Tiersen, Eleanor Tomlinson, Pauline Black, Edmund Hillary
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All death & what remains questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject