Novelist Esther Freud, 63, has shared her thoughts on grief, family, and the most important lesson life has taught her: 'Life's too short to take offence.' In an interview, the author of Hideous Kinky and My Sister and Other Lovers opened up about her parents' deaths, her career, and personal regrets.
Parents' deaths within four days
Freud described the closest she has come to death: 'My parents died within four days of each other. I was engulfed as I ran from one bedside to another.' Her father was the painter Lucian Freud, and her mother was Bernardine Coverley. The experience of losing both parents in rapid succession left her 'engulfed' with grief.
Early memories and career
Her earliest memory is 'making Fanta with seawater and sand on the beach at Formentera with my sister Bella.' She trained as an actor before releasing her debut novel in 1992. Hideous Kinky was adapted into a film starring Kate Winslet in 1998. Her work has been translated into 13 languages, and her 10th adult novel, My Sister and Other Lovers, is out in paperback.
Personal traits and regrets
Freud noted that she 'can always see two points of view, which makes it hard to have a row.' She deplores in others 'an inability to see the other side.' She described herself as 'small, determined, lucky.' Her most treasured possession is a painting by her father of her baby son.
When asked about the last lie she told, she admitted: 'I'm a terrible liar – I start confessing halfway through.' She would like to say sorry more often, calling it 'such an underrated word – I use it liberally.'
Life lessons and disappointments
Her biggest disappointment is 'not joining the circus.' She wanted to be an acrobat when growing up. The most important lesson life has taught her is that 'life's too short to take offence.' On death, she believes: 'We watch over those we love.'
Freud lives between Suffolk and London with her current partner. She has three children with the actor David Morrissey.
