Author and former nurse Christie Watson is joining us for a webchat on Thursday (17 May) evening at 9pm. Christie worked as a nurse for 20 years and her extraordinary account of life on the front line of the NHS has been documented in her book: The Language of Kindness: A Nurse's Story.
"In the book readers follow Christie as she nurses a premature baby who has miraculously made it through the night, and stand by her side during her patient’s agonising heart-lung transplant. Later, 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. When life is lived most intensely, Christie is there. She is a guide, mentor and friend".
Christie worked in a variety of healthcare settings, but spent most of her career in paediatric intensive care in large NHS hospitals before becoming a resuscitation nurse. She now teaches and writes and advocates for nursing. Her first novel, Tiny Sunbirds Far Away, won the Costa First Novel Award.
Come and chat to Christie about her experiences of working in the NHS on Thursday evening at 9pm. Everyone who joins will be entered into a draw to win one of three copies of The Language of Kindness. If you're unable to join on the night, post your question for Christie in advance on this thread.
Read our bloggers' reviews of The Language of Kindness and enter our competition to win one of ten free copies.