Sarah Perry: What disappointment has stayed with you longest?

The question

What disappointment has stayed with you longest?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

This exact question recurs in The Guardian's institutional Q&A pool.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

My A-level results in 1998. I flunked my history A-level and lost my place at Cambridge. It broke my heart for years; now I’m really glad, because I pull out the whole “I went to a polytechnic” thing. But at the time for a teenager who was rather pleased with herself, it was absolutely devastating.

The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 March 2026 source ↗

Others on this question

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Jay McInerney American writer

That my critics remain healthy, despite violent attacks of spleen.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 June 2009 source ↗

Ally McCoist

Not going to the World Cup in 1986 and not going to the World Cup in 1998.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 16 November 2024 source ↗

Tom Allen British comedian

Not understanding myself until I was in my 30s.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 25 November 2023 source ↗

Matthew Kelly

I didn’t get a part in a TV series for a writer that I’ve always wanted to work with, but I wasn’t right for it, if I’m truly honest.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 February 2026 source ↗