Emily Mortimer
British actress
All the things that seem very unimportant and manageable the next morning.
What keeps you awake at night?
Question
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Failure & regret
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
How close have you come to death?
Death & what remains
Question
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Identity & self
Question
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Craft & work
Question
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Time & hindsight
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
A long-running fixed question in The Guardian's weekly Q&A questionnaire.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
It’s my snoring that keeps Loreto awake!
The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 March 2025 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 196 →
Olivia Williams
British actress
All the things I ought to have done.
My impotence in the face of war.
Lionel Shriver
American author
My own bad prose.
More from Chris Bonington
View profile →The loss of Conrad.
When I was climbing I was absolutely happy. I can use a climbing wall, but that’s not the same as real climbing.
There are so many instances when I’ve come very close to death that it’s difficult to pick one.
I was a huge daydreamer and imagined myself as a successful general leading his troops into battle.
Everest the hard way in 1975: leading the expedition that succeeded where so many people had tried and failed. That was the most complex mountaineering challenge I ever faced. I spent hours at night in a little tent thinking about what the next problem would be and how to solve it.
Whenever things seem absolutely terrible, to see that you’re alive and that’s all that matters.
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