6 minute read
ANNIE ASKS
ANNIE ASKS
Annie McDonnell asks Alison Ragsdale
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
My entire family being in the same place at one time. It is happening less and less because of logistics, and life doing its thing, which is just as it should be. But I miss the big, messy, rowdy gatherings, especially at the holidays.
What is your greatest fear?
Outliving my husband.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
My propensity to procrastinate. If I allow myself to, I can put things off at an Olympian level.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Narcissism. A lack of empathy, or emotional sensitivity to others is something that I have a hard time with.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Travel. I was a nomad for over twenty years and lived in eight countries before settling in the USA. The wander lust hasn’t left me but the opportunities to travel are fewer these days. It’s still love it, though, and would give up many other activities to visit somewhere new, or a favorite haunt.
What is your current state of mind?
Contented. I feel incredibly fortunate to say that, and I never take it for granted.
On what occasion do you lie?
To save someone’s feelings. Total honesty can be cruel sometimes, so a little padding here and there to make it more gentle feels acceptable.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
My jowls. They run in my family, on my mother’s side, and I’d like to give them back.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
Compassion. Everything else pales in comparison to a man who will make soup from scratch for his wife when she is sick or tell a team member to go home if they’ve returned to work too soon after losing a loved one, who will put on gloves and replace a fledgling that fell from its nest, or sleep on the sofa next to a dog with stitches.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Compassion, again. We need more of it in our world.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Are you OK? I say it constantly – to my husband, my sisters, and my friends. I’m sure it eventually starts to grate, but I can’t help myself.
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
My husband. We met 30 years ago, both of us divorced, and a little gun-shy of relationships. But here we still are, more in love than we were back then. It hasn’t always been easy, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
When and where were you happiest?
Is it bad to say now? It took me a while to get here, and there were plenty of struggles along the way, but I am the happiest I have ever been, right now.
Which talent would you most like to have?
Sleeping. I am a chronic insomniac and I’d give pretty much anything to go to bed, close my eyes and go to sleep. To me, that’s more than a talent. It’s a superpower.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I’d love to be more spontaneous, but I am a serial planner. Order makes me happy, but sometimes taking the road less traveled and not stressing about how it will turn out would be refreshing.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Staying as close as I am to my sisters, despite living continents apart for a good part of our younger lives. Because of that closeness, I have five nephews and a niece whom I adore, and I’m grateful that they still enjoy hanging out with me and my husband, even though the ‘kids’ are all now in their thirties and forties.
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
One of our dogs. They live a charmed life - smothered in love and attention. What could be better?
Where would you most like to live?
In an ideal world, where practicality didn’t dictate, southern Italy. Otherwise, in a peaceful mountain town. Close to nature, with a diverse community, no mosquitos or humidity, and a healthy arts culture. Oh, and an awesome bookshop. Shangri La maybe?
What is your most treasured possession?
A handblown glass bird that contains a tiny swirl of my dad’s ashes. It sits across from where I write, and I talk to him every day.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Loss of a loved one. For me, there is no deeper pain than the sense of a part of you being gone.
What is your favorite occupation?
I’ve had a varied career path. Following my first passion, for ballet, I started out as a professional dancer. After an injury, I transitioned into international PR and marketing and was a small business owner before becoming a marketing consultant. Now that I am a full-time author, I am following another passion. It’s been a dream for so many years that I still pinch myself at times that this is my job now.
What is your most marked characteristic?
I’d say being an empath. Most of the time I value it greatly, and at other times, it can be exhausting.
What do you most value in your friends?
Not being judgmental and being able to laugh at themselves. I try to practice both, as often as I can.
Who is your hero of fiction?
Margery Benson of Rachel Joyce’s Miss Benson’s Beetle. She was 100% herself, and I want to be like her when I grow up.
Who are your heroes in real life?
Individuals who work in the medical field. I have met many over the years and they are heroic. From live saving surgeries to giving a scared patient some words of encouragement, what they do every single day truly makes a difference.
What are your favorite names?
I always use names for my characters that originate in the setting of the book. A few of my favorites are Mirren, Rowan, Ailsa, and Ava for female characters, and Callum, Russell, Grant, and Murdoch for males.
What is it that you most dislike?
Disingenuity. Be honest about who you are, your opinions, and your feelings. Follow through on promises, and we’re all good.
What is your greatest regret?
That my darling dad didn’t live to meet his great grandchildren. He watches over them all, I am sure, but to have seen him hold them would have been a precious gift.
How would you like to die?
In my sleep. No form of death doesn’t scare me, but when I go, I want to be in my husband’s arms. To close my eyes and have his voice be the last thing I hear.
What is your motto?
I’m not sure I have one, specifically, but if I had to choose, I’d say, do as you would be done by.
