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 Clara Amfo said elsewhere, not written here
I choked on a hard-boiled lemon sweet when I was 13. My brother Sam saved me.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 29 August 2020 source ↗

Others on this question

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Ronald Harwood South African playwright and novelist
Having a heart attack two days after my wife’s funeral.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 5 November 2016 source ↗
Martin Kemp English musician and actor
In 1995, I discovered I had two brain tumours. The process of having them removed went on for about three years. It was a long and drawn-out time, wondering whether or not I was going to die.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 14 July 2018 source ↗
Carl Barât English musician
Probably when I didn’t sleep for a week on drugs in 2009. I’d had a lot of meth and my heart felt like it was giving out. I remember climbing over balconies really high up, and I thought I was going to die, until I eventually fell asleep in someone’s garden.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 March 2022 source ↗

More from Clara Amfo

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Question What song would you like played at your funeral? Death & what remains
Run to the Sun by NERD. I’ve always loved that song. People always think that Pharrell [Williams] wrote it about a lover but it was about his grandmother, who passed away. My brother was a massive NERD fan – he got me into them and there’s something so pure and loving about that song. I want my funeral to be a joyous occasion, I want people to rave and to wear bright colours. But for the moment of reflection, I want that song.
Recorded The Guardian, Honest playlist, The Guardian, 7 November 2022 source ↗

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