God's Hotel : A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine

from dmturner

This lovely, sad, meditative memoir of the last almshouse in the country, Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco, is an interesting mix. It interweaves the history of medieval medicine as practiced by the nun Hildegard of Bingen with the history of the transformation of modern medicine through lo...

from tangledthread

Dr. Sweet came to the historic almshouse hospital searching for a way to work part time in internal medicine while pursuing an advanced degree in medieval medicine. The intersection is one of time, where Laguna Honda is being drawn into 21st century modern medicine, while Dr. S. is moving back in...

from Milehighlibrarian

Fascinating story of what a doctor learned from treating patients at the oldest almshouse hospital in the United States. She also studied premodern medicine which viewed the body as a garden to be tended as opposed to the modern medicine view of the body as a machine to be repaired. These experie...

from RoxieT

I felt this was a great read, especially for those in the medical field. I took some great things away from this book-my views toward current medical practices and how I fit in. I needed that.

from ebnelson

An amazing--and amazinigly--important book. Her unique position and perspective allows for an intriguing exploration into the inefficiency of efficiency (and her argument for seeing the efficiency of inefficiency). Her stories make it highly readable, and her topic makes it interesting to people ...