HW
Everything. I’ve one of those brains that doesn’t quieten down.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 December 2017 source ↗
The question
What thought won't let you sleep?Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
A long-running fixed question in The Guardian's weekly Q&A questionnaire.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Others on this question
View all 196 →
Yayoi Kusama
Japanese artist
I am an insomniac, so I often draw and write at night.
Perimenopausal anxiety, the terrible feeling of impending doom, something awful happening to my children, writing deadlines. Apart from that, I’m quite chilled.
Sam Neill
New Zealand actor
Worrying about insomnia.
Intrusive thoughts and caffeine.
More from Harriet Walter
View profile →An actor. When I was really young, I wanted to be a fishmonger’s wife.
I spent £600 on Rudolf Nureyev’s ballet shoes after he died. He was the biggest idol in my life and influenced me hugely.
Judith Clark, on whom I based my character in the prison trilogy. She has served over 35 years and turned herself around. She is an inspiration.
My mother, because I didn’t appreciate until after she’d gone that she was a vulnerable human being. I just expected her to know everything and be everything.
In some way your life is doubled. You’re you and the other person.
I went to a funeral where they played Cheek To Cheek: Fred Astaire singing “Heaven. I’m in heaven… ” Everyone smiled. I’d like that.
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