I was stabbed in my 20s. It was a late-night mugging and, while taking my wallet, they stabbed me in my chest.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 April 2026 source ↗
How close have you come to death?
Question
What keeps you awake at night?
Daily life
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Question
Who most deserves an apology from you, and why?
Failure & regret
Question
If you had only one day left to live, how would you spend it — and what would you deliberately avoid doing?
Death & what remains
Question
Aside from a property, what is the most expensive thing you have bought?
Money & investment
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.
Five years ago, a concrete plug, a little bigger than a baseball, fell off a building on Hollywood Boulevard when I was riding in an open convertible. It shattered the windshield. It really shook me. I still have it on my mantel.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 July 2021 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 209 →
Judy Murray
Scottish tennis coach
On a flight, last February, from Atlanta to Rio. We went through a storm and I was convinced that the plane was going down. The overhead cabins were opening, everything was falling out, people were screaming and I was hanging on to my seat.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 12 December 2020 source ↗
Tom Ellis
Welsh actor
Every time I let my wife drive.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 September 2021 source ↗
There are so many instances when I’ve come very close to death that it’s difficult to pick one.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 March 2025 source ↗
More from Jake Shears
View profile →Getting older and dying.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 July 2021 source ↗
The realisation that I am no longer young.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 July 2021 source ↗
To the Scissor Sisters. Back in the day, I could be an absolute monster; I was a real asshole.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 July 2021 source ↗
It would definitely involve lots of sex. I would spend the afternoon having some crazy passionate declarative sex with my husband.
Recorded Clash, Last Day On Earth, 29 June 2012 source ↗
A Henry Darger painting. Sadly, I lost it in the divorce, but it was a great parting gift.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 July 2021 source ↗
More on death & what remains
- What would you like to be remembered for? 213 answers
- What song would you like played at your funeral? 178 answers
- If you had only one day left to live, how would you spend it — and what would you deliberately avoid doing? 54 answers
- What happens when we die? 51 answers
- How would you like to die? 43 answers
- What would you like to leave your children? 42 answers
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