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Having a gun held to my head at a May Day rally during the revolution in Grenada. I was mistaken for a CIA agent.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 August 2018 source ↗
The question
How close have you come to dying?Originally asked
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Others on this question
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Sandy Powell
British costume designer
When I rode on the back of a motorbike from London to Rome with my eyes closed the entire way.
Omid Djalili
British stand-up comedian and actor
I had spinal meningitis when I was 13.
Lance Black
American screenwriter, director, producer and activist
On a flight between Beijing and London with Team GB divers. There was a fire on the plane. We landed on a long-abandoned strip in Siberia. Two days later, the same flight attendants told us we had beaten the odds by surviving.
After the war, when I was about nine, we were held up in our home. The robbers grabbed my father and had a gun at his throat. It was terrifying. My mother got a wad of money and gave it to the people, and they ran away.
More from Ian McEwan
View profile →To have grown up with my siblings. They were at least 10 years older than me.
The BBC World Service followed by the dawn chorus.
Angela Merkel. Under attack from all sides, she tries to keep alive the dreams of a tolerant, inclusive, open society.
In my mid- to late-20s, in London, beginning to publish, living hand to mouth, having fun. Also now, when love and life and work have finally cohered.
Exhilarating. I’ve been extremely lucky in that the person I love, Annalena, happens to be my wife.
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