[Gráinne]

What is your idea of perfect happiness? Lying in bed surrounded by cats and a pile of books.

What is your greatest fear? Having a long illness that saps my family's resources and emotions.

What historical figure do you most identify with? Eleanor of Aquitaine

Which living person do you most admire? My son, Sammy

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Shyness

What trait do you most deplore in others? Prejudice

What is your greatest extravagance? Books and CD's

On what occasion do you lie? I don't

What do you most dislike about your appearance? Big feet, so big I cannot wear heels or sandals

What is your favorite journey? Well, life. In the other meaning, the train trip in China through sunflower fields and the Great Wall in the background.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Piety

Which living person do you most despise? No one

Which words or phrases do you most overuse? Oh you've got to be kidding,

What is your greatest regret? I don't regret.

What or who is the greatest love of your life? Teaching

When and where were you happiest? Teaching in China

Which talent would you most like to have? To play guitar

What is your current state of mind? Mixed feelings

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Be more passionate

If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be? To bring them back from the dead

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what would it be? My cat

If you could choose what or who to come back as, what would it be? same as above

What do your consider your greatest achievement? My children growing into fine people

What is your most treasured possession? My mother's cookbook, with her notes

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? It was the year I made an embarrassing mistake at school, a relationship didn't work out, I was in love with a close friend, and my mother died. I honestly thought life was over.

What is your most marked characteristic? Sense of humor

What is the quality you most like in a man? I like the way they think, with reason (well, many of them)

What is the quality you most admire in a woman? Kindness
What do you most value in your friends? Kindness

Who are your favourite writers? Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Puskin, Chekhov

Who is your favourite hero of fiction? Rodion Raskolnikov

Who are your heroes in real life? The nurses at my son's home

What are your favourite names? Holly, Anna, Alyssa, Joshua

What is it that you most dislike? Cruelty

How would you like to die? Quick, with my family around to say good-bye

What is your motto: Speak softly and carry a big stick