The Language of Kindness: A Nurse's Story

I am in this industry as a mature nurse! Pleasant book, would recommend it to all nurses! Thank you

I'm the parent of a child with complex medical needs. She is severely disabled. Non verbal, non mobile, 100% tube fed and has epilepsy. Until 5 years ago I had very minimal experience of hospitals and nurses whereas now I can read medical notes and understand almost all of what is being discussed. It was great reading a book where I could see things from the other side of the hospital bed. We have become close over the years with some amazing nurses. Ones who will stay up late and chat with me in our cubicle. Ones who have taught me how to repass an NG tube, then a Gtube, then to being amazing at seeing a GJ button for the first time. I used to be so squeamish but now I think I would have been a great nurse. Nurses are amazing. They work tirelessly and this book shows not only how strained our nhs resources are, but how in spite of this the nurses persevere. It shows also the emotional side to it and the personal journey each nurse must go through. I was amused to learn about the author knowing which area a nurse worked in without knowing. I am familiar with this having encountered A&E nurses and all kinds. Thank you for writing this book. I suspect people who have not been exposed to the world of hospitals may be in for a bit of a shock and it would be great if more people could read it.

I enjoyed this memoir. Christie Watson tells of her time in nursing, starting from when she's a student, going through the different placements and specialities, continuing through the next 20 years in her career. I liked this from the beginning, then wasn't sure in some of a later chapter, then loved the midwifery chapter, and thereafter. She tells it like it is. Sometimes terrible things. It’s a powerful memoir. I've read many medical memoirs, and thought I knew about quite a lot of illnesses and conditions, but here many syndromes are mentioned I've never heard of before. Rare and terrible things that she must have seen in her time caring for sick children whilst working at a London hospital. Terrible, tragic and shocking stories too. The things she sees, it’s hard-hitting and heartbreaking. This turned out to be such a good book. Other angles from medical memoirs I've read previously.

A very good book.

If everyone in the UK read this book, nurses would be paid over £100,000 (Jan 2023) and the NHS receive proper funding. Christie Watson writes really well and has the ability to make the reader laugh out loud and cry on the same page. Her brilliant book has had more impact on me, for multiple positive reasons, than any other book in many years. It is a ‘warts and all’ revealing of the realities of nursing and medical life through a lens of experience, compassion and kindness. If ever I need nursing I would hope those who nurse me have been trained and inspired by a Christie Watson. Magnificent.

I enjoyed the passion, the stories, the commitment to patients. I came away more than ever impressed by the nurses in the NHS. But, this book should have been edited much more rigourously. Despite the subject matter, I actually got bored in places. The philosophising and history don't really work well and the book doesn't hang together properly. Still worth reading. But don't have too high expectations. The hype actually spoils the experience.

The fascinating story of one woman's nursing career. From the early days of training and learning through to the more experienced but still learning latter years. We'll work our way through various hospital departments and wards , experience the fragility of life ,the intensive care units,trauma units, General medical wards, accident and emergency and what it's like to respond to the 'crash calls' Getting to know the authors strengths and weaknesses ,celebrating her successes however small,and marvelling at her resilience as she watches her father's cancer nurse providing end of life care. Readable and engrossing writing, which only reinforced this readers opinion that wether they know it or not, it takes a special kind of person to be a nurse.

This book started a little slow but it certainly picked up speed and had me hooked by the third chapter. Having been a patient in a hospital close to fifty times I read with a special interest. I am forever indebted to all the wonderful nurses who have saved my life and dignity over and over and over. I appreciate the glimpse into their lives and will be even more keenly aware of what they sacrifice so that we can have compassionate care. Job well done!

Great book! Took a while to be delivered although this could be due to Covid-19.

This gives a realistic and also accurate look at being a nurse and is also beautifully written

Supplementary/ reference material to textbook

Going by the title, I expected a sensitive portrayal of what the writer's experience- the human drama, as a nurse. Instead it is a series of medical reports, often with gruesome details , about what all she saw with the eyes of a novice. A waste of time.