Jaye Ramsey Sutter

Proust Questionnaire – adapted from Vanity Fair

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Being in bed with my husband on a rainy afternoon.

What is your greatest fear?
Fear itself.

What historical figure do you most identify with?
Cassandra.

Which living person do you most admire?
Daniel Ellsberg,

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
'Whenever I stand short and do it their way' to paraphrase David Steinberg.

What is the trait you most despise in others?
Cruelty.

What is your greatest extravagance?
Ferragamo shoes, red leather handbags and brief cases, nicer writing instruments, and books, books, books.

On what occasion do you lie?
To avoid hurting someone’s feelings needlessly.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?
Upkeep.

Which living person do you most despise?
It is a toss up between George W. Bush and his mother, Barbara Bush.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
"Oh, my!"

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I would never worry about money again.

If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
Their inability to create and sustain a trust fund for me.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Psychotherapy.

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
A New Deal lawyer in Franklin Roosevelt’s Administration.

If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be?
A federal judge.

Who are your favorite writers?
Scott Fitzgerald, Gore Vidal, Theodore Sorenson, Orson Welles, Betty Freidan, Thomas Harris

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Major Marco.

What is your most treasured possession?
My marriage.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Meetings where participants use words like “impacted” when they don’t know if they should say “effect” or “affect.”

Where would you like to live?
1040 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York.

What is your most marked characteristic?
Impatience.

What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Masculinity.

What is the quality you most like in a man?
Femininity.

What is your greatest regret?
Needless worry.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?
John Ben Sutter, my husband.

How would you like to die?
In my sleep. Finally, no disturbances, no telephone calls.