Kathryn Faulke

A riveting book that treats elderly, infirm and irritable people as the lively and extraordinary human beings they really are. Kathryn Faulke is a shining example to us all, though she’s self-deprecating and touchingly hard on herself. Every Kind of People is truly heart-warming and will be in pride of place on my bookshelf of very special books

What comes through most in the book is the privilege of intimacy that comes from caring, the close relationships and love

Written with compassion, candour, and often hilarity

In a first of its kind, here is a memoir of a home care worker: a deeply compelling story of one of the most unsung professions in the UK, brimming with anecdotes to make you both laugh and cry. A vital book

inews, The Best New Books to Read in October

Every Kind of People reminds us that wonderful kindness and comedy and compassion abound in the care sector, the bourne to which so many of us are destined and for which so few are prepared

An extraordinary account of what it is to care for others, both beautiful and painful to read. This book is a compassionate invitation to get up close to the human condition and those who attend to it

Dr Gwen Adshead, author of The Devil You Know

Every Kind of People talks about what it’s actually like to be a carer: it’s full of love and full of warmth.

Every Kind of People is not just essential reading for anyone curious about the realities of care work in this country; it’s also the work of a natural storyteller, and a book full of empathy, humour, and - yes - care. All kinds of brilliant

Exceptional ... Beyond being a vivid and consistently engaging memoir, it delivers a powerful lesson in humanity that needs to be shared

This is an extraordinary and important book that will make you laugh, cry, admire and despair in equal measure. Beautifully written, it is both heart-warming and inspiring, but also left me with deep anger and puzzlement that care work can be so demeaned as “low skill” by our political leaders. How can a decent society so undervalue such difficult, challenging, and important work? Every Kind of People is a wonderful achievement

Marvellously life-affirming and utterly humbling

Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller, Editor's Choice

This is a fantastic and important book. It reads like a novel, complete with vivid characters, humour and tragedy. Above all, it is an insight into the hidden life of a care worker. I was lost in admiration

I am in love with Kate's storytelling, her ability to see the person and her fabulous, dry humour. This is a book about caring, and it's also a book about being in love with humanity

Kathryn Mannix, author of With the End in Mind

Affecting and memorable ... An extraordinary book ... As a polemic, it should be required reading for any politician in the Department of Health and Social Care

Told from inside one of the UK's most overlooked professions, this home careworker's memoir is warm , raw, and unflinchingly honest . The sad moments are balanced with the funny, heartwarming ones

A Journey into the Heart of Care Work

Kate never expected to become a home care worker. But when she left her senior role in the NHS, burnt-out and disheartened, she thought caring for people in their own homes would be a simpler job. Despite being determined not to become too involved with her 'customers', she soon found herself developing firm friendships, forging deep connections and bearing witness to the extraordinary drama to be found in ordinary lives. 
 
With energy, compassion and clarity, her memoir gives an astonishing insight into this unsung - and often maligned - profession, and into the hidden lives of the housebound and infirm. From Beryl who screams like a banshee whenever Kate tries to wash her, but collapses in giggles when her toes are tickled, to bawdy Mr Radbert who 'promised to give me his car when he can remember where he left it'. 
 
Every Kind of People is clear-eyed about the challenges facing the NHS and the care system. But it is above all a celebration of humanity and of the life-changing impact of caring, on those who offer it and those who receive it.

Kathryn Faulke

Praise for Every Kind of People

A riveting book that treats elderly, infirm and irritable people as the lively and extraordinary human beings they really are. Kathryn Faulke is a shining example to us all, though she’s self-deprecating and touchin ...

What comes through most in the book is the privilege of intimacy that comes from caring, the close relationships and love

Written with compassion, candour, and often hilarity

A riveting book that treats elderly, infirm and irritable people as the lively and extraordinary human beings they really are. Kathryn Faulke is a shining example to us all, though she’s self-deprecating and touchin ...

What comes through most in the book is the privilege of intimacy that comes from caring, the close relationships and love

Written with compassion, candour, and often hilarity

A riveting book that treats elderly, infirm and irritable people as the lively and extraordinary human beings they really are. Kathryn Faulke is a shining example to us all, though she’s self-deprecating and touchin ...

What comes through most in the book is the privilege of intimacy that comes from caring, the close relationships and love

Written with compassion, candour, and often hilarity

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter