Viv Albertine
Australian-born British musician and writer
The moment my daughter was born in 1999, because it took me seven years to conceive.
When were you happiest?
Question
What would you like to be remembered for?
Death & what remains
Question
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Failure & regret
Question
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Failure & regret
Question
How close have you come to death?
Death & what remains
Question
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Daily life
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Asked in 52 of the 131 consecutive instalments of The Guardian's The Q&A harvested on 2026-08-29.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
In my 60s. So many things that tortured me when I was younger have fallen away. Writing The Apology, the letter I wrote in my father’s voice, apologising for abusing me, has freed me from the last vestiges of anger, confusion, rancour and hate. It released me from a frame that had determined my life.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 June 2019 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 581 →Every time one of my kids was born and I knew that they were healthy.
Joanne Froggatt
English actress
On my wedding day in Oxfordshire, six years ago.
Last year, during four days in January, when I directed Rhoda, my second short film, in a tiny house in Camberwell with Juliet Stevenson and Emma D’Arcy.
More from Eve Ensler
View profile →As being useful.
That most men have not yet come to understand the impact and the devastating consequences of violence against women.
I would have honoured my body, I would have lived inside it, cherished it and protected it.
Nine years ago I discovered I had stage 3/4 uterine cancer and went through nine months of excruciating surgery, illness and chemotherapy. In that time, I touched death and it was the most powerful transformation of my life. I was forced to learn to take care of my body.
Going off all technology.
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