Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • The Language of Kindness

  • A Nurse's Story
  • By: Christie Watson
  • Narrated by: Christie Watson
  • Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (686 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Language of Kindness

By: Christie Watson
Narrated by: Christie Watson
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Christie Watson was a nurse for 20 years. Taking us from birth to death and from A&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 as she nurses a premature baby who has miraculously made it through the night, we stand by her side during her patient's agonising heart-lung transplant 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 with us. She is a guide, mentor and friend. And in these dark days of division and isolationism, she encourages us all to stretch out a hand.

©2018 Christie Watson (P)2018 Penguin Audio
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

No Comment cover art
A Nurse's Story cover art
34 Patients cover art
Catch Your Breath cover art
999 cover art
Holiday SOS cover art
Where There's Hope cover art
Your Life in My Hands cover art
The Stories We Tell cover art
Not Your Average Nurse cover art
The Beauty of Dusk cover art
The Doctor Will See You Now cover art
So Long, Chester Wheeler cover art
I Wasn't Strong Like This When I Started Out cover art
The Shift cover art
The Dark Side, Part 2 cover art

What listeners say about The Language of Kindness

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    492
  • 4 Stars
    126
  • 3 Stars
    52
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    6
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    430
  • 4 Stars
    110
  • 3 Stars
    61
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    5
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    447
  • 4 Stars
    111
  • 3 Stars
    47
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An NHS Angel

Uplifting, heart-breaking,(particularly the children with terminal illnesses), heart-warming, horrifying (the liquids which can torrent from a human body!), frightening (the reality of some deaths), heart-stopping... I'm in awe of Christie Watson's super-humanity, resilience, patience and above all her love, tenderness and kindness towards all her patients from little scraps of premature babies to the desperately sick and those ravaged by mental illness and even those who are violent. She has given out all this caring for 20 years whilst struggling with her own difficulties (becoming a broken-hearted single parent reliant on after-school clubs), utterly selfless, making the difference between life or death, or merely helping someone drink or holding a hand. The whole book is a wonderful affirmation of human goodness.

It's totally scandalous that she and all other nurses often struggling to pay household bills and travelling long distances to work at all hours should be paid so little, but Christie never complains even as she lays bare the shortcomings of our present state of affairs.

Christie reads well but I gave her only a 4 because her voice is that of a very young woman and it doesn't fit with her many years of experience. I'm sure it's very charming in real life, but I found it disconcerting in the audiobook.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

So emotional - so true

What an amazing book!
Can relate to it all being a nurse myself
Cried so much during this book, expressing what some of us can’t speak as we hide in a box in our brains to get through our daily work ♥️
Thank u!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book

I found this book thought provoking and given me more understanding of hospital life and death. very well written and narrator also author excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Moving, funny, thought provoking

This was a wonderful insight into the life of a nurse. Christie makes you realise how tough the life of a nurse is. I laughed and I cried. An amazing true life story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Breathtakingly penetrating

Haunting, astonishing, powerful, beautiful, humbling, critical, heartbreaking. One of the most difficult reads of my life, but also one of the best and most essential. I will never forget this book, the author and the impact her story has had on me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

So beautiful, so powerful

This is a tenderly written account of Christie’s experiences, much akin to what all nurses will encounter in their roles. I feel humbled and educated by the stories she has shared so gracefully. I really enjoyed listening to the book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Just brilliant

I myself worked as a trained nurse for years and am thinking of going back.this book has had a healing effect on me.Beautifully written and at times all I could do was weep.a homage to all the people who work in the NHS tirelessly and the care they give.Many times at a cost to their selves.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing!

This is an incredible book. Compelling, emotional and humbling. It reminds us of the fagility of life and to live everyday as if it's our last.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Couldn’t stop listening

Absolutely brilliant book, so well written and a great insight into the life of a nurse within the NHS.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable and educational

Having worked in the NHS for many years I had an open mind about this and looked forward to reading it I found the narration good once I became used to her reading style and the content of the book Is interesting I feel there is the right balance of factual information and anecdotal content and I must confess to a few tears as it brought back some memories of my own experiences I can thoroughly recommend this book My grandson saw it and bought it for his Mum who is halfway through her nurse training She is finding it very relevant to her up to date experiences too It is comparable with the Call the Midwife series

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!