The Language of Kindness: A Nurse's Story - Softcover

Watson, Christie

4.12

10,388 ratings by Goodreads

9781784741983: The Language of Kindness: A Nurse's Story

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1784741981 ISBN 13: 9781784741983

Publisher: Chatto & Windus, 2018

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

We watch Christie with a new mother holding her premature son who has miraculously made it through the night, we stand by her side as she spends many hours watching agonising heart and lung surgery, 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 there by your side. She is a guide, mentor and friend. And in these dark days of division and isolationism, she encourages you to stretch out your hand.

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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 a call to arms for compassion and kindness

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