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In April 2015 I nearly died, as my heart was finding it too difficult to keep my smoke-destroyed lungs going.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 September 2018 source ↗
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.
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Others on this question
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Julie Hesmondhalgh
English actress and narrator
Childbirth. And the wheel of our camper van coming clean off on the M1.
Michael Stipe
American singer
Scarlet fever, 1962. Hypothermia, 1974. Lightning strike, 1986.
There are so many instances when I’ve come very close to death that it’s difficult to pick one.
Ronald Harwood
South African playwright and novelist
Having a heart attack two days after my wife’s funeral.
More from Vanessa Redgrave
View profile →To lose my fourth baby.
Is all happiness in the past? Well, the births of three children. And playing with children and grandchildren.
I would very, very much like to say sorry to my mother, for all the times I told her I hadn’t got the time to talk.
Maybe a skilful bronze face somewhere. Or a small but helpful scholarship for a drama student or singer to study singing.
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