The Courage to Care

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley.  I was so pleased Random House granted my wish for an ARC of this book, having really enjoyed Watson's previous book.  I enjoyed 'The Compassion to Care' even more.  Watson's writing is excellent and heartfelt, taking you inside her world and creating warmth, tenderness.  I enjoyed and was interested in how she took you through stories of nursing alongside her experiences raising a family.  One of the best books of this genre I've read, and would definitely recommend.

A well timed book on the outstanding work carried out by our nurses not just dealing with Covid-19 but every single day of every year. They have an important role within hospital and the wider community and this book highlights the varied and sometimes challenging jobs that they face with courage , empathy and respect. A well written book capturing life as a compassionate care giver.

Wow, I finished reading this and wept - such an amazingly powerful read. This year, like many readers, I have worked my way, laughing and crying, through many of the medical biographies/accounts that feature in the bestseller lists and The Courage to Care sits at the top. I loved The Language of Kindness and was excited to more of Christie Watson. The Courage  to Care is similar in combining  nursing case studies with reflection and some personal stories. Watson reveals and discusses areas of nursing I had never imagined - nursing in prisons, care homes and residential settings, working with children with complex needs, anorexics and with the homeless. Watson writes beautifully and from the heart, reflecting on a service which is overwhelmed yet ever compassionate, of social change which is impacting so terribly on health. Her reflection is informed by her own wider reading and study and by her extensive professional experience. The writing about nursing is interspersed with personal stories about her beloved parents and in particular about her children and the family’s journey to adopt a sibling for her daughter. The love Watson has for her children is like a warm undercurrent which flows through the book - so powerful, so caring, so absolute. The Language of Lindness was remarkable but the Courage to Care takes the writing to another level. We should all read this and reflect. With thanks to Netgalley, Random House U.K. and Vintage Books for a digital copy of this book

A wonderful and poignant collection of memories from Christie Watson’s time as a nurse and also her journey as an adoptive parent. 

I have been thinking about applying to study nursing a lot recently, so have been reading as many books like this as possible. This is definitely one of my favourites. There’s a mix of heartwarming tales and heartbreaking ones, and I found myself needing tissues on more than one occasion! 

Watson gives a lot of insight into life as a nurse, some of the challenges faced, it’s clear it’s a difficult role but extremely rewarding. One thing to take from this book is how important a role nurses play, how lucky the NHS is to have such wonderful, caring, and compassionate nurses, and that we really shouldn’t take them for granted! 

Extremely well written, highly recommend ‘The Courage To Care’. Thank you to all nurses, NHS staff, and health and social care workers for the difference you make every day!

This book made me cry like an absolute baby. In a good way. It’s rare that a book can invoke such an extreme reaction from me. Wow. What an incredible people exist within our NHS. I am always interested in medical memoirs and have read a fair few over the past few years but this one really had quite an effect on me. Christie makes her books so readable and understandable and in this title talks about her own personal family life and her own journey, and also about covid. What an incredibly brave, kind, amazing woman she is.  5* hands down. One of the best most moving books I’ve read in a long time.

My wish was granted to read this book prior to release by the publisher and Netgalley. I thank them both deeply as I feel incredibly lucky to have read this book prior to release.

I had really high hopes for this book, having loved the author's previous book 'The Language of Kindness', and it did not disappoint. The book has taken me through the entire spectrum of human emotions, much like a day of British weather, to crying ugly deep wrenching tears, to golden moments of hope. 

The book takes you on a journey through the many experiences of the author within the NHS. One chapter that stood out particularly for me was the author’s experience supporting premature babies. The sometimes tragic circumstances in how they become preterm highlights the absolute knife edge of life they tread each day. 

As well as the stories from the NHS, we also have an incredibly raw insight into the author’s personal life, which I can only describe as having been privileged to witness. I felt my heart going out to Christie at multiple times in the book, but was continually strengthened by her resolve, and above all, her endless compassion for everyone.

The author’s strength and ability to carry on when faced with crisis beyond much of our comprehension is honestly nothing short of miraculous, and an absolute testament to the sacrifices she and other nurses make each and every day. 

Above all, The Courage to Care is a timely and important reminder to us all of the need for empathy and compassion in an increasingly divided and uncertain world. I know that this book will have an everlasting place in my heart, and I implore everyone to read it.

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.

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.

I absolutely loved The Language of Kindness: A Nurse's Story when I listened to the audiobook version via my library's mobile app. I was so happy when I was approved to read an advanced copy of The Courage to Care: A Call for Compassion that I hastily sat down and completed the book I was currently reading so I could read it. Christie Watson has such a beautiful way of writing; she includes extra little details that make reading or listening (her narration is sublime and poetic) so much more immersive and she is completely honest and open about her actions in the past. I'm so glad to say that The Courage to Care: A Call for Compassion also contains this style of writing.

Whilst it isn't necessary to read The Language of Kindness: A Nurse's Story before reading this book, I would highly recommend it as the previous book covered Watson's career and personal circumstances and tragedies that are mentioned in this one. The Courage to Care: A Call for Compassion is a mix of Watson's own experience in nursing, the adoption journey she took before meeting her son and the observations and experience of working alongside nurses in a variety of settings: prison, district etc.

As before, Watson does not hold back with the stories she tells and the honesty and rawness she writes about cannot fail to bring about an emotional response. I hugged my daughter a little tighter today after reading some of the cases in the book. Indeed, I am privileged enough to have a healthy daughter and, as Watson states, it is these moments we need to cherish. It can all change in an instance.

I also appreciated the discussion around recent medical events. The case of the unvaccinated child is one that I feel every parent should read. One cannot publish a medical memoir without mentioning covid-19 and Watson does so with tact and compassion. It was wonderful to see her return to nursing when the pandemic started. This truly shows that she has the courage to care.

Thank you to Christie Watson, Random House UK and Netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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.

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.