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The question

How close have you come to dying?

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.

Others on this question

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Julian Sands British actor
In the early 90s, in the Andes, caught in an atrocious storm above 20,000ft with three others. We were all in a very bad way. Some guys close to us perished; we were lucky.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 9 May 2020 source ↗
Meera Syal British writer and actress
On a school trip to Wales when I was 12. My canoe capsized and got stuck upside down next to a rock. I was underwater for about 30 seconds but it felt a lot longer.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 April 2018 source ↗
On the interstate. Anyone who has driven in the United States will know that you are always very close to death – it is like the wild west on the freeways.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 February 2025 source ↗
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.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 24 December 2016 source ↗

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