4.5 stars!

Appreciation for NHS workers is everywhere at the moment, and deservedly so. If you're walking through an English street in today's pandemic times, chances are good that you'll see rainbows drawn by children and adults alike in window, stickers on cars, and the odd face mask bearing the same motto. The Courage to Care shows us that however visible nurses are at the moment, however worthy of praise, they've always been there and they'll continue to be there even when all of this is over. They're still incredibly brave, courageous, compassionate people who, as Watson reminds us, have the courage to care.

This book (a sequel to Watson's first memoir, The Language of Kindness, which I haven't yet read) is told via a series of personal accounts from the author, and through them, she explores many pressing matters - homelessness, racism, the necessity of vaccinations, domestic violence, the prison system, special needs children, respecting the elderly, mental health, and end-of-life care. Each focuses on a particular patient, Watson's experience treating them, and the impact they have on her. We don't know much about these people, but the way she describes them makes us care and hope, often against hope, that they'll pull through. Sometimes, they do; other times, they don't.

No matter the outcome, each story and each of Watson's reflections is told in such a moving, heartfelt manner that made me truly realise just how much nurses do for us and our communities.

I enjoyed Christie Watson’s other book of this genre so was very excited to get this one. It’s written very well and shows true insight. Very eye opening and thought provoking

i was lucky enough to be given an advance copy thanks to netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
i had previously read christie’s first book the language of kindness a true account of her nursing career and loved it.
this follow up book allows us to share the day to day workings of a nurses life with details of the patients she came across,their conditions and their families.
it also covers nursing in other settings including dealing with the homeless and the wonderful outreach staff.
christie takes you on a wonderfully written journey about her working life but also her private life too.as an ex nurse i loved being back with the patients and their families via her words and like last time her caring nature comes across above everything else.
easy to read,interesting and emotional.
highly recommended

The Courage to Care: A Call for Compassion is a very relevant and timely read. Shining the light on a profession that many didn't pay attention to before when they really should.
Nurses. care workers etc deserve the utmost respect for the job they do in caring for people.

The Courage To Care Christie Watson
Having read Christie's first book, The Language Of Kindness, I was delighted to see she has a follow up book.
If you ever doubt, just how hard nurses work, the read both of Christie's books.
She comes across as such a caring and loving person, who always has her patients interests at heart, but more than that, the patients family too. When i think of what nurses do, a hospital scenario comes to mind, but reading this book, I now realise its is so much more. Community based, prisons, nursing homes, the list goes on and on.
I loved how open the author is, and the way we learn about her personal challenges too.
The end of this book brought a tear to my eye, it really makes you think about our front line staff during this current pandemic, and how they go above and beyond, often for little or no thanks. So for what its worth, thank you all from me
Overall, I loved this book.

I devoured this book in a relatively short time.

Christie Watson is a critical care nurse and this book is a brief review of her career (which I understand has been covered in more detail in her previous book, which I haven’t read), her family life, including adopting her son, and her experiences working with nurses in different areas, It briefly touches on the Covid-19 pandemic at the end of the book.

There is a nice balance of professional and personal life, with good humour and touching humility and emotion throughout.

Whilst I have always had tremendous respect for nurses, this brought on a new level of understanding and appreciation of the profession.

A criticism I have is that the book occasionally appeared disjointed, with unexpected jumps between subjects from one paragraph to another - because it is a new paragraph within a chapter, I expected it to be the same topic, but found it often jumped unexpectedly. I don’t know if this is because this was an ARC and it may well be sorted for the final published book, but this did make the book difficult to read on occasions.

A really good book.

My wish for this came true. An honest review in exchange for a free book from netgalley. I did enjoy this book, but it was slightly confusing, where one minute it was talking about one thing, then it would go onto something else then back to where it originally left off.
After reading it at this poignant time what a brilliant job the nurses do.

This clarion call for courage to care isn’t a sugar-coated, syrupy read. Far from it. It’s a refreshing recording of reality, laced with tenderness but also filled with toughness. Christy Watson presents an honest revelation of what it takes to be compassionate, namely: grit, courage, tenacity, resilience, determination, and inner strength.

Because nursing, or caring for others in any capacity, is sheer hard work, with lots of potential knock-backs but also lots of unsought rewards. Threaded throughout the narrative of these varied personal stories and delicious quotable gems of insight is the author’s own journey of developing the courage to care as she progresses from timid student nurse to the highly skilled and accomplished professional she is now.

Turns out it can be learnt if it doesn’t start out as an inherent trait. What it takes to have the courage to care is the right impetus, coupled with a strong motivation and desire to make a difference in the lives of others who need help and support. Many touching family stories are shared here but the major focus is on the vast swathes of inspiring nurses and other medical staff who find the courage to care over and over again, day by day, without fail.

Caring can often be a thankless task, a painful road to follow, with many setbacks. Each caring journey requires the guts to continue once begun, such as the author reveals in her journey to adopt. It’s a call to live less selfishly as well. This insightful, eminently quotable and timely book will bring tears to your eyes. It’s for all of us who have the desire to care and love: parents, teachers, nurses, spouses, partners, siblings and friends, or even stranger to stranger. May we all find the courage and kindness to care within our hearts. Grateful thanks to Random House UK, Vintage and NetGalley for the ARC.

I had read Christie Watson's first book and really enjoyed it. I was thrilled to see that she had written a second book. This book is a standalone novel, and you do not need to read the first book before this one.
I've always had a fascination with medical related books, especially first hand accounts. Christie Watson is a critical care nurse. This book covers a wide range of different times, from her days as a student nurse, to her existence with Covid-19. The book is not in chronological order, but it doesn't make a difference to reading it.
Christie also talks about her personal life, from being a child, family bereavement and her children. She talks about how these life experiences have helped her with her nursing skills and vice versa.
The main message of this book is that nursing does not just mean looking after a patients medical needs, but involves a lot more, how to actually care for all of a patients needs, whether that is mentally, physically, socially or just listening and understanding. It is an eye opener to just how much work a nurse can put in to caring.
I really enjoyed reading this book, I found it very interesting and compelling. The writing flowed well and it was easy to follow. There was a lot of emotional scenes, whether they were very sad, shocking or joyful. It is an excellent book.

It is possibly an even harder time than ever, being on the NHS Frontline during the recent Covid pandemic. Christie Watson talks about the very real fear about this situation, which her saw signing up to lend a hand, alongside other acts of courage she has seen throughout her time in nursing.

"As frontline staff, we live in spaces where sometimes there is no right or wrong, only the in-between. We are always questioning our actions : whether they were enough, or even right. ‘Do No Harm’ is not always possible, despite our best efforts. Often medicine and nursing are choices between bad or worse, not good or better . The only way I can cope with this is to think always of compassion. To ask myself difficult questions, and keep the patient and their family at the heart of all things."

Watson writes with real heart. She contrasts her personal story (including death of her father, birth of her daughter and the adoption process she went through with her son), with snippets of her work life. Having trained and shadowed in many different areas of nursing, Watson has met people who make a difference to so many different people. From a nurse who shows care by handing out balloons on Valentine's Day, to one who learned sign language, to one who sings to their patients, this is about the small acts as much as the life saving (of which there is also plenty). Proof that there is always something to admire and that compassion, courage and connection keep the heart of the health service beating.

"Politics has always been part of nursing, but our current political situation means a rise of hatred, and it seeps into healthcare like poison into water."

Watson shares her insights, learnt from a career helping the most vulnerable and being someone who has seen the real sting of the issues we often see in the news- from knife crime to the current national crisis.

The books themes sit together so well. Written articulately, thoroughly and will clear passion, Watson here is definitely sitting amongst those peers she hails as inspirational. There is a lot to learn about kindness, whether in nursing or in our day to day lives.

After reading the first of Christie Watson’s book I have noticed that while the structure of the book is there the writing just doesn’t seem to execute it very well. I felt the same about the first book as I do about this one. It just feels flat!

While the subjects she talks about are important and heartbreaking and heartwarming there just doesn’t seem to be the writing level to execute it.

A wonderful incite to nursing in all its forms and various emotions it creates. Christie writes in a very descriptive manner in showing the reader how family life can be affected by her career. A really good, enjoyable account by Christie. The only thing i felt was a sign of the times, was that night duty appears to allow sleep breaks! As a retired Intensive Care nurse I can honestly say we definitely did not have this luxury- it would have been really beneficial!

I didn't read Christie's first book but I don't think that is a problem. Here she does is a little of what is like to be a nurse who really does care for their patients and who are happy to share their skills with those learning. It's not all about sewing wounds and dolling out medication - it's the whole package: listening, taking an interest, CARING. Christie shows us in this book just how much more there is to being a nurse. Nursing is the best profession to be in yet the Government don't seem to rate them: I think we should try to change that.

I enjoyed this book very much. I think Christie Watson has compassion and as the subject she writes about can be very difficult, it becomes a fascinating read. She introduces us to different fields of nursing, some that hardly get a thought in our own concept of a 'nurse'. I was also a nurse for over 40 years and when I picked this book I didn't expect to learn anything new, how wrong I was. Christie explained what it is like to care. I think this would be a lovely present for most people, as it has such a positive message and we all need to hear that at times. The book based on the authors experiences has left me wanting to send Christie my best wishes for a bright and happy future. I notice in this review I am using Christie Watson's first name, not something I usually do but the author has an engagement with her readers I feel that is the right thing to do.
I must go and read another book by this author, as I like the style she writes with.

I’d like to thank Random House UK, Vintage and NetGalley who kindly granted my wish to read ‘The Courage To Care’ by Christie Watson in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

‘The Courage To Care’ is the story of Christie Watson and her desire to be part of the NHS, of the specialties she experiences during her training such as mental health, forensic and prison nursing, shadowing district nurses and social workers, all the time gaining invaluable insight into the hard work and dedication that nursing as a career entails. As she describes the highs and many lows of caring for the desperately sick, Christie also tells us about her personal life, her partner, daughter and the route they go down to adopt their wonderful son.

Christie writes about the pandemic that has struck the world, the effect it will have on caring for the sick and claims that regardless of where you work in the NHS most important of all is to care for the patient. She learns from her colleagues who’ve supported her every step of the way that it’s the smallest of actions that can make the most difference not only for the patient but also for their family.

As I’ve reached the end of the book I sob as I read that with her children’s encouragement she’s willing to risk her health to be on the front line to help her colleagues in the fight against Coronavirus. I have the greatest respect and gratitude for the dedication Christie Watson and her colleagues give to their profession and despite what she says, I think they’re brave, compassionate and true heroes in every sense of the word.

Thank you to Christie Watson, Random House UK and NetGalley for providing an e-ARC of this book. All views are my own. Any quotes taken from the book are subject to change.

This book is the second healthcare-related book written by retired nurse, Christie Watson, her first one being, "The Language of Kindness". As a student nurse myself, it was amazing to see Watson's own experiences as a student nurse and the thoughts that came with that. Watson touched upon failures within her studies and how she bounced back and continued - not letting anything hold her back.

The first chapter was heart-breaking and made me want to read on, it was promising and it did not disappoint. There was one quote in the second chapter that really stood out to me and that was "the single most important thing is that it is critical to care" - this goes without saying but it's always a nice reminder.

The book takes you on a journey through not only Watson's professional life and career but her home life too which made it personal and makes you feel more connected to the book and the stories.

At the end of the book, Watson touches on the COVID-19 situation and how she signed up to the temporary register to help out when the NHS were in desperate need of extra help more than ever. It was really insightful to read first hand what it was like and the effects the pandemic has had on the NHS and NHS workers.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone, particularly current student nurses or those wanting to go into the nursing profession.

(Review to go live on my blog on 15th Sept at 5pm - https://chlosbookshelf.weebly.com)

I read Christie's first nursing account, The Language of Kindness, a year ago and loved it so was very excited by her 2nd nursing story. I read The Courage to Care in a day, gripped by the stark detail she recounts her personal experiences in, whilst drawing the reader's attention to harsh realities and issues with our society and health system.
I'm sure not many people have considered what it's actually like to work as an NHS nurse; Christie's recount enables you to do so, giving you details of both horrifying and inspiring elements of the career. Christie enables the reader to see quite how strong a person is needed to make a nurse.
There is not much chronological order to the book, with different patient stories being woven into the overall message of the importance of nursing, but it still makes a powerful story that is moving and very gripping.
Another great book from Christie Watson!

A beautifully written book about the incredible job that nurses do. There are stories about patients and work and some stories about home life and family. This is a really interesting read.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Nurses have never been more important. Christie Watson reveals the extent of work nurses have to do on a daily basis.

Christie Watson is a Critical Care nurse. This is a beautifully written story that will pull at your heartstrings but there is some humour too. She talks about some difficult and tragic events. She also touches on Covid19. The devotion these men and women have is phenomenal. This book reads well as a standalone.

I would like to thank #NetGalley, #RandomHouseUK #VintagePublishing and the author #ChristineWatson for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Such a beautiful book, showing all aspects of caring in our lives from the recipients to the carers.. Christie Watson is a Critical Care nurse, but in this book she covers many areas as well; mental health, physical handicap, adoption, end of life as well as nursing. It is topical because she touches on COVID 19 and it’s impact on how it affects the lives of patients and carers. It is written from the heart and I was moved to tears by her writing. I read her first book ‘ The Language of Kindness’ and was captivated. I think this one is even better. Thanks to NetGalley and Chatto and Windus for an early reading copy in return for an honest review.