The Language of Kindness: A Nurse's Story

Watson, Christie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1784741973 ISBN 13: 9781784741976

Publisher: Chatto & Windus, 2018

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

*A Guardian, Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, The Times, New Statesman Netgalley and Reading Agency Book of the Year 2018*

An astonishing memoir about nursing and an urgent call for compassion and kindness

‘It made me cry. It made me think. It made me laugh. It encouraged me to appreciate this most underappreciated of professions more than ever’ Adam Kay, author of This is Going to Hurt

Christie Watson was a nurse for twenty years. Taking us from birth to death and from A&E to the mortuary, The Language of Kindness is an astounding account of a profession defined by acts of care, compassion and kindness.

We watch Christie as she nurses a premature baby who has miraculously made it through the night, we stand by her side during her patient’s agonising heart-lung transplant, and we hold our breath as she washes the hair of a child fatally injured in a fire, attempting to remove the toxic smell of smoke before the grieving family arrive.

In our most extreme moments, when life is lived most intensely, Christie is with us. She is a guide, mentor and friend. And in these dark days of division and isolationism, she encourages us all to stretch out a hand.

‘A remarkable book about life and death and so brilliantly written it makes you hold your breath’ Ruby Wax

Review:

"If it's taken a very long time to get a memoir written by a nurse, then it was certainly worth the wait. I have rarely read anything that has moved me as much or taken me by the hand so confidently into an unknown world, teeming with life and haunted by death... A remarkable book that I will be pressing on everyone I love" (Allison Pearson The Sunday Telegraph)

"A powerful insight into the life of nurses" (Robbie Millen The Times, **Books of the Year**)

"It made me cry. It made me think. It made me laugh. It encouraged me to appreciate this most underappreciated of professions more than ever ... A gently remarkable book... it’s a privilege to have Christie as our guide" (Adam Kay Guardian)

"Wonderful" (Sebastian Faulks)

"A deeply compassionate book... It will leave you weeping as well as hopeful" (Helen Davies Sunday Times, **Books of the Year**)

"An amazing book -- terrifying at times, but tender and truthful. Let's be thankful for wonderful nurses -- and writers -- like Christie Watson" (Jacqueline Wilson)

"Compared with the recent rash of doctor memoirs, this is a far quieter and more thoughtful book" (Kathryn Hughes Guardian, **Books of the Year**)

"I challenge anyone to get through all 336 pages without shedding a tear for what those who work in "the most undervalued of all professions" have to witness ... Expect her stories [...] to linger with you many days after the final chapter" (Jackie Annesley The Sunday Times)

"A remarkable book about life and death and so brilliantly written it makes you hold your breath" (Ruby Wax)

"A poignant and powerful account of what it’s like to be a nurse. It’s a profession that touches all our lives delivering expert and compassionate care from the cradle to the grave. A must-read for nurses and those interested in understanding the true art and science of nursing" (Professor Jane Cummings, Chief Nursing Officer for England)

Book Description:

An astonishing memoir about nursing and an urgent call for compassion and kindness