French term
Works in: French to English
s\'agripper à la vie
Je m'agrippe à la vie.
Non-PRO (1): mchd
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Proposed translations
United States
An economic geek with social skills
Native in: French 
Works in: English to French, French to English, Spanish to English, and 1 more.
to hang on to life
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Note added at 1 hr (2015-10-07 20:05:02 GMT)
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It's not a negative expression. It means that the person in question is doing his/her utmost to get the most from life
| neutral |
Philippa Smith
: Hanging on to life implies being ill or otherwise at risk of losing your life...
10 hrs
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grab life with both hands
"Ila presque quatre-vingts ans, mais il s'agrippe à la vie comme un jeune homme."
https://books.google.es/books?id=8VlGTSVBfy4C&pg=PT89&lpg=PT...
"Elle a toujours rêvé qu'un homme la prenne comme on s'agrippe à la vie. Il lui tient fort les bras."
http://clubdesrats.forumr.net/t4199-amanda-sthers-france
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Note added at 1 hr (2015-10-07 20:08:17 GMT)
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In other words, in terms of your question, it's normally negative, but can sometimes be used in a positive sense. The usual "negative" meaning doesn't make sense in the context you're proposing, so in this particular case the implications must be positive.
I suggested "grab" in order to keep the same physical image, but something like "living life to the full" would convey the same sort of idea.
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Note added at 1 hr (2015-10-07 20:09:55 GMT)
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"Hang on" and "cling on" are inevitably negative; both imply that life is in danger of being lost. They don't fit this context.
| agree |
mchd
9 hrs
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Merci !
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| agree |
Philippa Smith
: Nice tone!
10 hrs
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Thanks, Philippa!
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Nikki Scott-Despaigne
: I'd like to see more context, as you point out, this is generally reserved where there is some struggly in the background. Here I'd expect "mordre la vie à plein dents", for example.
14 hrs
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So would I (like to see more context), and I agree it's not an expression you'd usually see in the context proposed (a very active person, presumably not diagnosed with a terminal illness), but from what we've been told I think it must mean this.
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Austria
more than thirty years of experience
Native in: German 
Works in: Greek to German, English to German, Greek to English, and 5 more.
to cling on to life
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Note added at 1 час (2015-10-07 20:12:52 GMT)
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active People when confronted with severe health Problems do not give up easily, they will struggle hard to overcome their Problems because they love life or their way of living. The same applies to the positive thinking group of the elderly who are satisfied with their life and thus ready to fight premature hardships or illness.
live [one's] life with a passion
www.kjdesignsthings.com/uncategorized/makers-of-sport-podca... Jul 2015 - Exercise, summer softball, winter hoops, and long dog walks keep me centered. I live my life with a passion to inspire and to be inspired.
https://joydiscoverinvention.wordpress.com/.../on-spontaneit... Jul 2012 - I'm game for new discoveries. I keep an open mind to new possibilities. I live my life with a passion for new foods and flavours.
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Note added at 1 hr (2015-10-07 20:30:33 GMT)
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www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/mickjagger/primitivecool.htmlDid you live life with a passion? I said oh yeah. Does it all have some strange meaning? Can it change my life today? Or is it all so much flotsam and jetsam?
Native in: English , French
Works in: English to French, French to English, German to French, and 4 more.
live (my) life to the full
United Kingdom
poetically precise prose with... panache
Native in: English
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English
Grab/Live/Take life by the horns
Do You Grab Life by the Horns or Sit on the Sidelines ...
https://www.psychologytoday.com/.../do-you-grab-life-the-hor...
15 Nov 2009 - Which type of person are you? Do you grab life by the horns and ride or tie yourself to the mast? New personality research shows that at the …
Grabbing Life by the Horns - The New York Times
www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/.../grabbing-life-by-the-horns.h...
16 Dec 2011 - When I was a child, my mother told me that everyone in the world hated me. They hated me, she said, because I was a Jew. So? I asked.
Self Help: Grab Life By The Horns - Be Up To 80% More ...
www.amazon.co.uk › ... › Reference & Education › Business Life
Start reading Self Help: Grab Life By The Horns - Be Up To 80% More Eff... on your Kindle in under a minute. Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here or start …
Take Life by the Horns on Pinterest | Remember This, So ...
https://www.pinterest.com/erinbrant/take-life-by-the-horns/
Explore Erin Brant's board "Take Life by the Horns" on Pinterest, a visual bookmarking tool that helps you discover and save creative ideas | See more about …
Centenarians Teach Us How To Grab Life By The Horns
www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/.../centenarians-dodge_n_517...
18 Apr 2014 - People who live to 100 and beyond collect lots of wisdom. It might be wisdom we' ve heard before, but somehow it takes on more weight when …
The Trippy Difference | Trippy
trippy.co.in/the-trippy-difference/
Don't tread the well trotted path instead discover your inner Explorer – carve out new paths, live life by the horns, experience the extremes in cultures and …
Discussion
But another possibility that's suddenly occurred to me is that this very active person, to whom (barring special circumstances) this expression is inapplicable in its normal sense, might be saying it ironically: like saying "mustn't grumble" when you're actually on the crest of a wave, or "just about hanging on" when you swim a mile before breakfast, etc.
If there is no indication of some time of battle going on, then I would not expect this expression to be used. Indeed, "mordre la vie à pleins dents" would be a more likely choice. Coould you give more background please?