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In my childhood, when I didn’t think about whether it was happy. It just was.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 October 2018 source ↗
The question
What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy?Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Asked in 52 of the 131 consecutive instalments of The Guardian's The Q&A harvested on 2026-08-29.
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Others on this question
View all 577 →In the sea, somewhere hot. Looking back at people I love on the beach.
Meghan Trainor
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Whenever I’m with my kids.
Gina McKee
British actress
Now is pretty good; at home, the stove is burning and I’ve cleared the inbox enough to feel that I can relax.
In Paris and Italy, the summer after graduating from college.
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View profile →A cellist, inspired by my mum and dad’s friendship with Jacqueline du Pré, and seeing a documentary about her.
Any writer who thinks I’ve ruined their work in performance.
Listening to the last 10 minutes of the podcast S-Town. It is one of my favourite reminders of what life is truly all about.
A birthday present I hoped would mean a lot to the person. I had their family history researched and a book made.
I’ve been to two postmortems in real life, and spent the last 14 years talking about death at work – so, pretty close.
Dawn French, because I am sitting next to her and she says if I don’t say her, she will hurt me.
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