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.

Others on this question

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Roger Ebert Film critic
One of these days I will encounter what Henry James called on his deathbed “the distinguished thing.” I will not be conscious of the moment of passing. In this life I have already been declared dead. It wasn’t so bad. After the first ruptured artery, the doctors thought I was finished. My wife, Chaz, said she sensed that I was still alive and was communicating to her that I wasn’t finished yet. She said our hearts were beating in unison, although my heartbeat couldn’t be discovered. She told the doctors I was alive, they did what doctors do, and here I am, alive.
Recorded Salon, excerpted from Life Itself: A Memoir, 15 September 2011 source ↗
Adam Clayton
When I was drinking, there were many times when I was out for the night and didn’t come back for a week.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 7 December 2024 source ↗
Clive Myrie British journalist, newsreader, and presenter
Coming under attack while reporting in Iraq.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 June 2024 source ↗
Cynthia Nixon American actress and politician
When I was 13, I was on a bicycle and got hit by a taxi in New York.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 April 2017 source ↗

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