When Michael McQueen’s father died of a heart attack at the age of 51, he was naturally left devastated.
And, like so many other people who have lost a loved one, the bestselling author found himself regretting the fact that he hadn’t taken the time to really get to know his dad.
Now, eleven years later, Michael has decided to do something very special, in a bid to stop others from making the same mistake.
His new website Histography asks users to answer a series of emailed questions over the course of a year, covering "the whole spectrum of life".
The idea is that each user will, as a result, wind up creating a detailed online memory box, which they can then share with family and friends.
But, as he researched the project he found that certain unanswered questions kept popping up. Questions which people wished they’d asked their loved ones while they still had the chance.
He eventually came up with five questions that people regretted not having asked a loved one while they were alive:
-
What is your greatest regret?
-
What were your hopes and dreams as a child?
-
What would you like to see change in the world in the next 10 years?
-
What was the most rebellious thing you did as a young person?
-
What can you remember about your first kiss?
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Michael said: "There’s a lot of wisdom you can gain from just knowing what people wish they’d done differently in their lives, particularly older people.
"We can often not picture our parents or grandparents being a kid.
"They’re old or they’re our parents, so it’s sort of nice to imagine them being teenagers or adolescents themselves."
What questions do you believe we should ask out loved ones before it’s too late? Share your thoughts via the comments box below now.