Christie Watson – författare

From the Sunday Times bestselling and award-winning author Christie Watson, comes a heart-pounding new psychological drama of secrets, lies, morals and medicine.'Unique and compelling' ELIZABETH DAY 'True literary perfection' EMMA JANE UNSWORTH'Heart-stopping, twisting, funny and frightening' CHRIS WHITAKER'Enthralling, gripping, deliciously dark... An immersive, unforgettable gem' RACHEL CLARKE'Propulsive, funny and filled with suspense'SARAH LANGFORDYou're trained to save the lives of others. How far would you go to protect your own? Ruthlessly ambitious Olivia, anxious perfectionist Laura and free-spirited risk-taker Anjali couldn't be more different. Yet their friendship, which began on the first day of medical school, has kept them inseparable for twenty-five years. As wild all-nighters and exam pressures gave way to the struggles and joys of new motherhood and intense jobs, their bond remained unbreakable. Years ago they promised that nothing would come between them and that they'd do anything for one another, including burying one night they have never spoken about: a drug-fuelled university party that forced them to make a deadly choice that could still destroy them. When an eerily similar tragedy strikes involving their teenage children, everything the three women have built threatens to shatter around them. And they are left asking: just how far can you stretch a friendship before it snaps?'Each new twist screeches like nails on plaster'KATHRYN MANNIX'Where medicine meets morality... with page-turning twists' NATHAN FILER'Intelligent, propulsive and disturbing... I couldn't put it down' NIKKI SMITH'An extraordinary book'JOHN SUTHERLAND'No-one writes about the drama of medicine like Christie Watson'DR GAVIN FRANCIS

'Compulsively readable' SUNDAY TIMES'A superior medical thriller' GUARDIAN'Darkly gripping' OBSERVERYou're trained to save the lives of others. But how far would you go to save your own?Olivia, Laura and Anjali couldn't be more different. Inseparable since the first day of medical school, their bond has remained unbreakable. Years ago, they promised nothing would come between them - including the wild university party that forced them to make a deadly choice.Now working as doctors in high-pressure jobs, with lives and families of their own, their secret binds them tighter still. But when an eerily similar tragedy affects their teenage children, the choice the three women face may not be one their friendship can survive . . .

'Thrilling . . . I adored every single second' YOMI ADEGOKE'Incredibly funny, brilliantly disturbing, filled with humanity' JOANNA CANNON 'A nifty, twisty crime story of surgical precision' SEBASTIAN FAULKSUnexpected deaths and untoward incidents are becoming alarmingly frequent at City Hospital's Emergency Department. A&E Senior Sister, Aoife, begins to question whether her new nurses are incompetent - or worse. Earnest recruit Eden cares deeply for her patients and carries the Code of Conduct around in her pocket, reporting everyone whose views don't align with hers. But despite her self-righteousness, Eden keeps making mistakes. Is she dangerous? It is Sophie who worries Aoife the most. Acerbic, over-confident and seemingly lacking in empathy, how Sophie ever became a nurse is beyond her. When Sophie begins an affair with Aoife's best friend, Michael, a man twenty-five years her senior, tensions escalate further, threatening to eclipse the fact that lives are at stake. Aoife is the nurse we'd all want. Compassionate to the core. She's the nicest, kindest nurse in the world. Until she is tested to the limit . . . Fearless, fast-paced and darkly funny, Killing Me Softly is a jaw-dropping novel about the hidden extremes of nursing and three complex women who hold the lives of their patients - and each other - in their hands.

'Thrilling . . . I adored every single second' YOMI ADEGOKE'Incredibly funny, brilliantly disturbing, filled with humanity' JOANNA CANNON'A nifty, twisty crime story of surgical precision' SEBASTIAN FAULKSUnexpected deaths and untoward incidents are becoming alarmingly frequent at City Hospital's Emergency Department. A&E Senior Sister, Aoife, begins to question whether her new nurses are incompetent - or worse.Earnest recruit Eden cares deeply for her patients and carries the Code of Conduct around in her pocket, reporting everyone whose views don't align with hers. But despite her self-righteousness, Eden keeps making mistakes. Is she dangerous?It is Sophie who worries Aoife the most. Acerbic, over-confident and seemingly lacking in empathy, how Sophie ever became a nurse is beyond her. When Sophie begins an affair with Aoife's best friend, Michael, a man twenty-five years her senior, tensions escalate further, threatening to eclipse the fact that lives are at stake.Aoife is the nurse we'd all want. Compassionate to the core. She's the nicest, kindest nurse in the world. Until she is tested to the limit . . .Fearless, fast-paced and darkly funny, Killing Me Softly is a jaw-dropping novel about the hidden extremes of nursing and three complex women who hold the lives of their patients - and each other - in their hands.

'An inspiring book for our challenging times' Olivia ColemanNurses have never been more important.We benefit from their expertise in our hospitals and beyond: in our schools, on our streets, in prisons, hospices and care homes. When we feel most alone, nurses remind us that we are not alone at all.In The Courage to Care bestselling author Christie Watson reveals the remarkable extent of nurses' work:- A community mental-health nurse choreographs support for a man suffering from severe depression- A teen with stab wounds is treated by the critical-care team; his school nurse visits and he drops the bravado- A pregnant woman loses frightening amounts of blood following a car accident; it is a military nurse who synchronises the emergency department into immaculate order and focus.Christie makes a further discovery: that, time and again, it is patients and their families - including her own - who show exceptional strength in the most challenging times. We are all deserving of compassion, and as we share in each other's suffering, Christie Watson shows us how we can find courage too. The courage to care.'Let's be thankful for wonderful nurses - and writers - like Christie Watson' Jacqueline Wilson'Christie Watson writes with the fullness of her heart to give us insight into the world of patients and nursing, inspiring us to recognise it is how we treat people, how we speak and respond to them, as well as what we do, that heals' Julia Samuel

A frank, funny and inspiring new memoir from the bestselling author of The Language of Kindness about the search for meaning in midlife'Brilliant... Like having an honest conversation with a smart and funny friend' Cathy RentzenbrinkAm I a terrible mother? Is the world ending? Did I turn the oven off? Did I pay the parking fine? Is my TV licence up to date? Will I go to prison? Who will take care of the children?This is the story of Christie Watson's journey through midlife. The joy of letting go and the pain of the morning after, the unstoppable power of female friendship and the struggle to raise teenagers as a single parent. It lays bare the exhilaration, agony, wonder and fears of being a middle-aged woman with a wild heart, a changing body and a new set of challenges. And as her world takes on a different shape, there's something else she starts to feel: the hot flush of possibility...'I adore Christie Watson. Quilt on Fire is full of her trademark candour, compassion and humour' Elizabeth Day'You don't have to be in midlife to appreciate this funny, real, empathetic memoir about the multitudes contained in every woman' Red

'A mother-daughter guide to navigating a teenage mental-health crisis' THE TIMES'It made me cry, laugh and hug my daughter extra tightly' BRYONY GORDONHow can we communicate better across the generational divide?When Rowan was sixteen, she experienced a mental-health breakdown. She and her mother, Christie, were barely speaking but they finally began to talk. Their conversations not only revealed the chasm between their generations, but also enabled Christie to really get to know her daughter – and in doing so, understand how she could help Rowan recover.In an age of polarisation, this is a book about how a mother and daughter find humour in the things that divide them and with it a way to connect. Its bare honesty will have you laughing – and possibly crying – out loud as it shows that you are not alone.'I loved this book and I know it will help many families during difficult times' JULIA SAMUEL'Full of heart that will help parents and their teenagers' DEREK OWUSU'Incredibly brave, generous and important' CLOVER STROUD

Read Costa Award-winning author Christie Watson's incredible No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling memoir of nursing today. 'It made me cry. It made me think. It made me laugh' Adam Kay, author of This is Going to Hurt and Twas the Nightshift Before ChristmasChristie Watson was a nurse for twenty years. Taking us from birth to death and from A&E to the mortuary, The Language of Kindness is an astounding 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.'A powerful insight into the life of nurses' The Times, Books of the Year'A remarkable book about life and death and so brilliantly written it makes you hold your breath' Ruby Wax

'Fascinating... a much needed conversation between generations' THE TIMESHow can we communicate when things are so painful? How can we connect when generational differences are extreme? How do parents and teenagers - and all of us - have real conversations? When Rowan was sixteen, she only tolerated communication from her mother in the form of Snapchat. Desperate to be closer to her daughter, Christie sent daily selfies of her face superimposed onto a chicken nugget. It took serious illness for them to finally talk – and truly listen.Rowan's mental health struggles revealed the chasm between their generations. They started being more honest with each other than they had ever been before: discussing identity, race, gender and neurodivergence; opening up about disordered eating and self-harm; navigating the perils of social media.In an age of polarisation, this is how a mother and daughter find humour in the things that divide them and become more hopeful about the future of our world.A book for all parents and teenagers going through a tough time, for friends, grandparents, teachers and healthcare professionals who want to help, its bare honesty will have you laughing – and possibly crying – out loud as it shows that you are not alone.'I loved this book and I know it will help many families during difficult times' JULIA SAMUEL'Incredibly brave, generous and important' CLOVER STROUD'It made me cry, laugh and hug my daughter extra tightly' BRYONY GORDON

WINNER OF THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD. 'Everything changed after Mama found Father lying on top of another woman.'Blessing and her brother Ezikiel adore their larger-than-life father, their glamorous mother and their comfortable life in Lagos. But all that changes when their father leaves them for another woman. Their mother is fired from her job at the Royal Imperial Hotel - only married women can work there - and soon they have to quit their air-conditioned apartment to go and live with their grandparents in a compound in the Niger Delta.Adapting to life with a poor countryside family is a shock beyond measure after their privileged upbringing in Lagos. Told in Blessing's own beguiling voice, Tiny Sunbirds Far Away shows how some families can survive almost anything. At times hilarious, always poignant, occasionally tragic, it is peopled with characters you will never forget.'This is not a bleak book: there is humour and love, especially in the growing relationship between Blessing and her grandmother, a traditional midwife. Absorbing and passionate' Guardian

Elijah, seven years old, is covered in scars and has a history of disruptive behaviour. His adoptive mother Nikki believes that she and her husband Obi are strong enough to accept his difficulties - and that being white will not affect her ability to raise a black son. Elijah's birth mother Deborah loves her son like the world has never known. Elijah thinks it's his fault they can't be together. Each of them faces more challenges than they could have dreamed, but just as Elijah starts to settle in, a shocking event rocks their fragile peace and the result is devastating.