Siri Hustvedt
American novelist, essayist, poet
I would have articulated aloud the comments I too often suppressed out of deference to arrogant, condescending, sexist bores.
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Question
What would you like to leave your children?
Death & what remains
Question
Which moment embarrassed you most?
Failure & regret
Question
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Identity & self
Question
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Identity & self
Question
What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
Failure & regret
Question
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Daily life
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 have partied a little bit harder in my 20s.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 November 2023 source ↗
Others on this question
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Erin O'Connor
English model
The bits that consumed me with guilt.
Edwina Currie
Former British politician, broadcaster and writer
I would be richer, I’d have beaten Mrs Thatcher’s ban on women in the cabinet, and I would be a dame.
There are one or two relationships where I’d see the red flags much earlier.
More from Katie Melua
View profile →A healthy planet.
Forty-eight hours after giving birth, I sent a picture that someone had sent me of their baby to a WhatsApp group, thinking it was my son (they kind of looked similar). Mortifying.
I get distracted by anything and everything, so all my projects finish just before the deadline. Sometimes, it’s a bit too tight.
Living a fairytale.
“Your lyrics are rubbish.” It was someone I was working with when I was in my early 20s. It turned out well because I then spent a long time studying and learning how to write good lyrics.
Knowing everyone I love is always going to be healthy.
More on failure & regret
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- Who most deserves an apology from you, and why? 209 answers
- What is the worst thing anyone has said to you? 122 answers
- Which moment embarrassed you most? 122 answers
- How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a favourite failure? 69 answers
- What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? 36 answers
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