The Courage to Care was an incredible second book from Christie Watson! I didn't want to put it down, i was so so invested in Christie's journey as a nurse in all the settings she has cared in, as well as her adoption process and the affects it had on her family. Everything was written so beautifully and candidly, there are heart shattering moments in Christie's career that made me sob- but there's also lots of laughter and passages that make you feel as though your heart is lighter somehow just by learning of someone else's kindness or good fortune.

Perfectly encapsulates the issues facing the NHS without sounding repetitive or moaning about the downfalls, mainly showing how even though shifts are long, times are tough, and patients can be difficult the NHS still absolutely exceeds expectations. I felt comforted after reading this, and it will be a firm favourite forever.

Thankyou to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced reading copy.

I had read and enjoyed Christie Watson's first book ("The Courage to Care") and this follow up did not disappoint. The gentle art of caring and compassion has been pushed to the forefront by the current pandemic circumstances, so this is a timely book as a reminder not only of the sterling work that is done by nurses, but also that they are human and have failings, just like the rest of us. I feel that her personal story that is woven into the book could be expanded upon, although it is clear that she didn't want to give too much away. However, the book is very much about the author's personal experience - mainly as a nurse, but also as a mother. Recommended.

The courage to care is the second book by Christie Watson, her first book was certainly a 2018 favourite and The Courage to Care certainly doesn’t disappoint. I was so glad when she wrote a second book and couldn’t wait to get my hands on it.

There was a number of different themes throughout the book which I really enjoyed
One thing I will say I normally find it really hard to keep track of books that move time/location and back again but I didn’t with this one, I knew where we were and who we were with.

Adoption was one of the stand out topics for me with this book it wasn’t what I was expecting but the process was interesting to read about and the strong emotions attached to that.

We go on a number of different journeys in Christie’s nursing. Some of the patients she looks after have heartbreaking stories. Early in Christie’s career we go with her and an experienced nurse to patients in their own home offering nursing within the community and see the isolation some people live in. We also join Christie in A&E later on in her career, seeing people in life and death situations, as well as the care and treatment they receive.


Something I didn't know about was military nurses! I had no idea they existed (I’m not sure why! I’m sure there will be a book from one!) never mind how effective they are within the NHS after leaving the military, this is highlighted in a really positive way within the book.

While the book mentions the dreaded COVID-19 and we see Christie as well as her family coping with it, it isn’t the main focus of the book but does make clear no person will pass away alone when in hospital even if their family can’t be with them.

We all know how much our NHS means but the recent pandemic has really highlighted that. Every time I read a book from Christie Watson I want to fling my arms around her and thank her for the service provided to the NHS.

The Courage To Care: A Call For Compassion
By Christie Watson
Published by Chatto & Windus, 17th September 2020

Ironically, just after I started reading this, I ended up having totally unexpected emergency surgery and a four day stay in the Intensive Care Unit of my local hospital...

I had lots of time to talk to the nursing and the medical staff about what their work was like and how difficult it had been caring for large numbers of very unwell Covid 19 patients and dealing with their families.

This book rings so very true with all that was said to me, and I am full of respect and admiration for those nurses who every day step outside their comfort zones to provide not just nursing care, but also render emotional and mental health care for patients and their families.

We tend to think of nurses as primarily working in hospitals, GP surgeries/clinics and as community nurses, but this book explores the much wider range of work that nurses do, in our prisons, in the armed forces, in schools, in parishes and communities, in specific organisations dealing with disabilities, diseases and illnesses, palliative care, bereavement support and so much more. Christie's own career as a Paediatric Intensive Care nurse means she has seen things most of us never have and never will, thankfully, and had a considerable impact on how she initially worried about her own newborn daughter before settling into an equilibrium where she knew what really, really sick was from her work and when her children were or were not truly ill.

Motherhood and the later lengthy adoption process of her son allow us to see her worries about raising mixed-race children and the spectre of racism which exists even in 21st century Britain. Would you have thought that black women are far more likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth than white women in this day and age in the UK?

This is a wonderful and thought-provoking book, which I enjoyed even more than her previous book, The Language Of Kindness.

As absorbing and wonderfully written as her previous book, this explores areas of nursing I hadn’t even considered (such as in a prison) with such wonderful compassion and hope, even in the path of underfunding, cuts, and the current global pandemic.

Another fully interesting read from the courage to care. I loved Christie’s first book and jumped at the chance to read the second. Moving, well structured and thought prevoking it is well worth the read.

Watson’s first book was a heartwarming recount of her past in nursing, and this book follows in the same beautifully created way. Such a brilliant example of the true angels the nurses of the nhs are. Thank you for giving me this arc to read

Watson's first book highlighting the work of nurses was a fascinating read and this even more so. Highlighting the nurses working in less familiar settings we are reminded that clapping once a week is no reward for these dedicated, over worked & underpaid care givers.
The underlying personal thread to the narrative linking it all together was moving & it was interesting to read the new problems Covid 19 is posing to nurses.

A well written and honest account of life working in the NHS whilst being a parent and all the challenges this can bring to you