We talked about money, about fame, about the people he had loved. We talked about choosing a new career after losing the one you love (after his accident) and about how things could have turned out differently. I could tell that he enjoyed the interview.
Afterwards we went up into the kitchen and his assistant said something along the lines of “same old questions, Stirling?”. He looked at me knowingly: we had a secret. These were not the questions he had been asked before. In fact, he had had to think quite hard to answer many of them.
There are questions I did not ask because I thought we would have more time. I thought we would get another chance. But then Stirling got sick. I’ve seen him recover from many accidents, including a 50ft fall down a lift shaft. I’ve never seen someone so determined to live and to heal. The last three years must have been the most difficult of his life. He was a fighter. I hoped against hope that he would come back one more time. I told him he had to hold on so that he could give me away if I ever got married. Susie was always by his side and I know, as he says in the interview, that meant the world to him. I learnt from my mum’s book that he did not like to be alone. And he loved sharing his life with Susie.
During that time, it did not seem right to share this material with the world. Now it does. I hope that people will enjoy it and perhaps learn a few things that will help them live better, more fulfilled lives like this great man, whose integrity is an example to us all.