Maggie O'Farrell
Irish-British novelist
“You’ll never walk again.” This was when I was eight or nine and recovering from viral encephalitis.
What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
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
Which book are you ashamed not to have read?
Taste & recommendation
Question
How close have you come to death?
Death & what remains
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What is the worst job you have done?
Craft & work
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
A fixed Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Apart from stuff on social media, an ex-partner telling me I’m unlovable.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 5 July 2025 source ↗
Others on this question
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Bruce Dickinson
English heavy metal singer
“What makes you think you are so special?”
There’s a tweet somewhere saying, “If you like Africa so much, why don’t you go back there.” It was because I dedicated one of my dances to my three mothers – Mother Africa, Mother Nature and my mother.
I was called the N-word in Romford, by someone stepping off a train as I was getting on.
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Everybody I’ve lost to suicide. When someone dies in that tragic way, you always feel you could have done more.
Cancel culture: getting stuck on the discourse rather than looking at the system.
The Great Gatsby.
Before transitioning, I had a severe eating disorder. The doctor said, “Your body’s shutting down and if you don’t improve your mental and physical wellbeing, you’ll die.” Shortly after that, I started transitioning medically and my eating disorder resolved.
At university, I worked at a hotel in housekeeping. We saw so many weird things in people’s rooms. Guests would leave sex and party stuff behind!
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- 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
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