Philippa Perry
Psychotherapist and author
I’m closer today than I was yesterday.
How close have you come to death?
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
What is your greatest fear?
Identity & self
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Question
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Craft & work
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
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.
Catching Covid. I don’t think any of us know what we’re messing with still to this day.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 December 2025 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 209 →
Orlando Bloom
English actor
At 20, I fell from a fourth-floor window and broke my back. For four days they said I’d never walk again, but I had a miraculous recovery.
Before transitioning, I had a severe eating disorder. The doctor said, “Your body’s shutting down and if you don’t improve your mental and physical wellbeing, you’ll die.” Shortly after that, I started transitioning medically and my eating disorder resolved.
Always flying: we’ve had flights where the engine’s been on fire; where we’ve nose-dived.
More from Zack Polanski
View profile →Forest Green Rovers, my football team, getting relegated.
Last summer with my boyfriend Richie. We had no plans – it was just wonderful.
A Reform government.
Those who create the doom.
Getting elected with 85% of the vote.
Chlöe Swarbrick who is co-leader of the New Zealand Greens. She’s demonstrating the bold leadership that I look to do every single day.
More on death & what remains
- What would you like to be remembered for? 214 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
- What would you like to leave your children? 44 answers
- How would you like to die? 44 answers
Also answered this
Edmund Hillary, Jon Sopel, Anita Rani, Edwina Currie, Winston Churchill, Louis Theroux
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- All death & what remains questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject