Siobhán McSweeney: How close have you come to dying? — FLAPSS

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.

SM

Siobhán McSweeney

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

Physically, falling off my bike two years ago. Emotionally, when my mother died when I was 27.

The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 December 2023 source ↗

Others on this question

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Emeli Sandé British singer

On a camping holiday in Scotland when I was nine: I was in an inflatable dinghy that drifted out to sea. A lifeboat had to come.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 January 2017 source ↗

Throat and neck cancer in 2018. They told me six to eight months if it hadn’t been caught.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 August 2025 source ↗

Joanne Froggatt English actress

I was in a car crash when I was 16, and I have a little scar on my face from smashing the passenger window with my head. If the car had rolled, I would have been dead.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 February 2019 source ↗

Olivia Williams British actress

Undiagnosed VIPoma in 2018.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 April 2022 source ↗

More from Siobhán McSweeney

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Question Who deserves an apology from you, and for what? Failure & regret

So many. I have been very cowardly in the past, and it came across as me not caring, when the opposite was true.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 December 2023 source ↗

Question What one change would most improve the quality of your daily life? Daily life

A better knee and better lungs.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 December 2023 source ↗

Question Which book do you still mean to read, and why has it stayed on your list? Taste & recommendation

I feel no shame about not reading a book. That’s silly.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 December 2023 source ↗

Question How would you want people to remember you? Death & what remains

As Tilda Swinton in a fat suit.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 December 2023 source ↗

Question What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy? Time & hindsight

On stage. Always on stage. God that’s depressing, isn’t it?

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 December 2023 source ↗

Question What is the harshest thing anyone has said to you? Failure & regret

“Sorry, I don’t mean to insult you, but did you know you look a bit like that actress Siobhán McSweeney?”

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 December 2023 source ↗

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