Esther Freud: How close have you come to death?

How close have you come to death?

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.

Recorded Esther Freud said elsewhere, not written here

My parents died within four days of each other. I was engulfed as I ran from one bedside to another.

The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 July 2026 source ↗

Others on this question

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Bear Grylls

Where do I begin? There have been a lot.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 24 January 2026 source ↗

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 ↗

Simone Biles United States artistic gymnast

In dreams, but that’s about it.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 25 February 2017 source ↗

Julie Hesmondhalgh English actress and narrator

Childbirth. And the wheel of our camper van coming clean off on the M1.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 February 2018 source ↗

More from Esther Freud

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Question Which moment embarrassed you most? Failure & regret

I bumped into an old schoolteacher and her even more ancient and deaf sister, and she shouted to her, “Remember Esther? Now she writes books … ABOUT HERSELF.”

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 4 July 2026 source ↗