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God's Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine Paperback – Bargain Price, April 2, 2013

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,239 ratings

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A medical “page-turner” that traces one doctor’s “remarkable journey to the essence of medicine” (The San Francisco Chronicle).

San Francisco’s Laguna Honda Hospital is the last almshouse in the country, a descendant of the Hôtel-Dieu (God’s hotel) that cared for the sick in the Middle Ages. Ballet dancers and rock musicians, professors and thieves—“anyone who had fallen, or, often, leapt, onto hard times” and needed extended medical care—ended up here. So did Victoria Sweet, who came for two months and stayed for twenty years.
     Laguna Honda, relatively low-tech but human-paced, gave Sweet the opportunity to practice a kind of attentive medicine that has almost vanished. Gradually, the place transformed the way she understood her work. Alongside the modern view of the body as a machine to be fixed, her extraordinary patients evoked an older idea, of the body as a garden to be tended.
God’s Hotel tells their story and the story of the hospital itself, which, as efficiency experts, politicians, and architects descended, determined to turn it into a modern “health care facility,” revealed its own surprising truths about the essence, cost, and value of caring for the body and the soul.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

PRAISE FOR GOD'S HOTEL

“Transcendent… readable chapters go down like restorative sips of cool water, and its hard-core subversion cheers like a shot of gin…
God’s Hotel [is] a tour de force… Others have written about the relationship between time and medical care with similar eloquence and urgency, but the centuries of perspective that Dr. Sweet brings infuse the point with unforgettable clarity.” –The New York Times


“A radical and inspiring alternative vision of caring for the sick.” –
Vanity Fair 

 “Engaging… You might not expect a book about San Francisco's most downtrodden patients to be a page-turner, but it is. With its colorful cast of characters battling the tide of history,
God's Hotel is a remarkable journey into the essence of medicine.” –San Francisco Chronicle 

"Victoria Sweet writes beautifully about the enormous richness of life at Laguna Honda, the chronic [care] hospital where she has spent the last twenty years, and the intense sense of place and community that binds patients and staff there. Such community in the medical world is vanishingly rare now, and Laguna Honda may be the last of its kind…
God's Hotel is a most important book which raises fundamental questions about the nature of medicine in our time. It should be required reading for anyone interested in the 'business' of healthcare – and especially those interested in the humanity of healthcare." –Oliver Sacks, M.D. author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and The Mind's Eye 


“Victoria Sweet has written the best non-fiction book I've read this year… The qualities that make her a great doctor are the same qualities that make her book so powerful, original and relevant… For a very long time, a gang of renegades got away with practicing medicine the way it should be: sitting with patients, watching, listening, often doing nothing more than being present. And then Victoria Sweet, a candidate for sainthood, wrote a book that is a beacon in the darkness.” –Jesse Kornbluth,
Huffington Post


“A beautifully written and illuminating book… [Sweet’s] metaphors are poetic and hint at the mystical, but then she pulls back with the educated eye of a scientist… For both the agnostic and the believer, Sweet pinpoints the element of medicine that makes it a calling rather than a job: the unique and sustaining love that is sparked between a doctor and patient.” –Jerome Groopman,
The New York Review of Books 

"Remarkable… [Sweet] would appreciate that it took time for me to journey to and through her work since that may be one of the many compelling messages she so eloquently, yet simply by storytelling, conveys… permitting ‘tincture of time’ to also do its job." –
The Huffington Post

“Sweet writes fluidly and well… She weaves a fascinating account of the historical forces that transformed our view of the body… It's high time that someone gets medieval on modern medicine's morass, and Victoria Sweet is just the woman to do it.” –
Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Captivating… with this humane and thoughtful work, Sweet joins physician-authors such as Oliver Sacks, Jerome Groopman and Abraham Verghese.” –
The Dallas Morning News

“Sweet’s tone in God’s Hotel nicely matches her subject. Her writing has a lovely, antique quality… This hospital, with its chronically ill patients, crumbling buildings, and never-ending budget woes, was 'a gift.' In this beautiful and unique book, she shares that gift with us generously.” –The Boston Globe

"Intelligent and moving… In this often lyrical book, Dr. Sweet reveals a deep spirituality and unsentimental compassion." –
Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"Sweet paints a dynamic portrait… [which] is at its core testimonial to the body’s remarkable ability to heal when it is provided with the simple ingredients of time and care." –Utne Reader 

“Visionary… thoroughly subversive in all the best ways… Sweet proposes ways that we might reimagine our way forward by looking into the distant past… This book’s lessons and conclusions should challenge doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, and policy makers to stop and rethink their core beliefs.” –
Journal of Health Affairs


"Containing no medical jargon… nothing too gory or gut-wrenching; just descriptive stories of patients, unusual treatments, a hospital in transition, and a doctor on a journey, learning to practice 'a beautiful art.'" –
East Bay Express 

"By braiding… historical searches with her time at Laguna Honda, [Sweet] arrives at a compelling critique of modernized health care and a vision for transforming it." –
Books & Culture

“[Our] healthcare system might function a lot better if every single American citizen, healthcare professional, politician and legislator would read Victoria Sweet’s insightful, beautifully written and moving book.” –
Bookpage 

About the Author

Victoria Sweet has been a physician at San Francisco’s Laguna Honda Hospital for more than twenty years. An associate clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, she is also a prize-winning historian with a Ph.D. in history and social medicine.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Riverhead Books; Reprint edition (April 2, 2013)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1594486549
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1594486548
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.47 x 0.84 x 8.24 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,239 ratings

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Victoria Sweet
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Dr. Sweet is an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and a prize-winning historian with a Ph.D. in medical history. For over twenty years she practiced medicine at Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco. In her first book, God's Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine (Riverhead, 2012), she laid out her evidence—in stories of her patients and her hospital—for some radically new ideas about medicine and healthcare. She was a Guggenheim Fellow for 2014-2015. In 2017 she published what The New York Times calls her "wonderful new memoir," Slow Medicine: A Way to Healing, where she used her life as a doctor to show the Way of Slow Medicine, which is thoughtful, methodical, and personal. Her new book, Convictions: A Story of Medicine in the 21st Century, is a fictionalized account, based on court cases, patient stories, doctor memoirs, and her own experiences as a physician, of what is going on in healthcare today, behind the scenes.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,239 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book engaging and informative. They describe the story as interesting and compelling, deepening their humanity. The educational value is praised as unique and enlightening, covering all aspects of health care. Readers praise the writing quality as well-written and easy to understand. They appreciate the compassion and religious content, which fills them with faith in mankind. Overall, they find the book captures the essence of the Laguna Honda and provides an eye-opening look at modern medicine.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

229 customers mention "Readability"220 positive9 negative

Customers find the book captivating and entertaining. They appreciate the character development and quirky hospital community. The author expresses her love of her profession beautifully. The book takes a unique and personal look at how politics and technology impact patient rights.

"...its entertainments or instruct you with useful knowledge is a good book; one that does both is a great book...." Read more

"...This is a book to savor slowly or gobble up in a few sleepless nights...." Read more

"...She produced a very entertaining and informative read, however, the book needed good editing...." Read more

"Great read! I just started but already find it very interesting." Read more

172 customers mention "Story quality"163 positive9 negative

Customers find the story compelling and engaging. They appreciate the thoughtful and compassionate way the author presents the stories of many patients. The book weaves together three interesting threads in its accounts of life at God's Hotel.

"...book comes along that not only instructs and delights but also deepens your humanity, carving out extra space inside us to carry even more compassion..." Read more

"...past, a candid look at today's managed health "care", a most interesting and evenhanded look at political maneuvering and still I was left..." Read more

"Fascinating. At first, I thought I would not get into it .... I am squeamish ... sigh ... but I carried on, and I am so very, very glad I did...." Read more

"Great read! I just started but already find it very interesting." Read more

168 customers mention "Educational value"165 positive3 negative

Customers find the book an enlightening look into alternative care. It deepens their humanity and critiques modern medicine. The book covers all aspects of health care, engaging readers in caring for patients. Readers appreciate the author's spiritually attuned perspective and unique view of medical practice.

"...-- Dr Sweet describes in great detail and without spite the encroachment of modern medicine with its "efficiencies" into the cozy, personable and..." Read more

"...Her often candid but always respectful descriptions of co-workers, superiors and above all, her patients, their triumphs and failures, their life..." Read more

"...The author's knowledge, perceptions, etc., re modern medicine are interesting. I really like this gal, and would love it if she were my doc...." Read more

"...At the hospital she quickly becomes very engaged in caring for patients because the hospital's operating method allowed both physicians and nurses a..." Read more

82 customers mention "Writing quality"76 positive6 negative

Customers praise the book's writing quality. They find the story compelling and well-written, with a lighthearted tone. Readers appreciate the author's knowledge and perspective on healthcare issues. The book is described as thought-provoking and written with wit and heart.

"...The author's knowledge, perceptions, etc., re modern medicine are interesting. I really like this gal, and would love it if she were my doc...." Read more

"...It is. immensely readable and engaging." Read more

"...but was delighted to find that her book is a page turner and written in an easy,lighthearted way but very authoritatively...." Read more

"...Dr. Sweet is an excellent engaging writer. I learned a lot about various subjects I formerly knew nothing about and enjoyed it along the way...." Read more

30 customers mention "Compassion"28 positive2 negative

Customers find the book compassionate, caring, and heartfelt. They appreciate the author's non-judgmental perspective on healing and the human spirit. The book is described as hospitable, warm, and affectionate. Readers also mention that the author holds a non-judgemental view of humanity and medicine.

"...get a sense that Dr Victoria Sweet is a deeply thoughtful and compassionate person, and one of the very best kind of caregivers one could hope to..." Read more

"...patient's physical/medical needs but to approach them in a kind and compassionate way...." Read more

"...and regress, in the homeless and the hopeless, and in compassion on a large plane." Read more

"...of the medical professions in an extremely thoughtful and compassionate tale, linking the past to the present, and contrasting spiritual values to..." Read more

12 customers mention "Religious content"12 positive0 negative

Customers find the religious content in the book engaging. It includes saints, miracles, and religious pilgrimages. Readers appreciate the thoughtful addition to the evidence and faith in mankind. The connection with a Benedictine nun is fascinating.

"...of modern medicine with its "efficiencies" into the cozy, personable and strangely effective ways of Laguna Honda, even though there is much to..." Read more

"This book takes a unique and very personal look at how the political and economic changes of the past 30 years have changed the delivery of health..." Read more

"...and expresses a point of view of modern medicine which is unique in my experience...." Read more

"...the past, present and future of our health care system in a very personalized manner that captures the best and worst; where we have been and,..." Read more

12 customers mention "Visual quality"12 positive0 negative

Customers find the book visually engaging. They say it provides an eye-opening look at modern medicine and captures the essence of the Laguna Honda Hospital. The book also provides a fascinating picture of patient care and a beautiful reminder of what needs to be part of medical education.

"...It's a homage to the practice of medicine of the past, a candid look at today's managed health "care", a most interesting and evenhanded..." Read more

"...Technology is not to be ignored but neither should love. This was beautiful reminder and one that needs to be part of medical and nursing training...." Read more

"A fascinating look at a unique hospital, really an alms house that is a longtime San Francisco institution...." Read more

"This is an eye-opening look at our concept of medicine today and how it has been changed by efficiency experts...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2012
    A book that can delight you through its entertainments or instruct you with useful knowledge is a good book; one that does both is a great book. Rarely, a book comes along that not only instructs and delights but also deepens your humanity, carving out extra space inside us to carry even more compassion. 'God's Hotel' is such a book. [A hat-tip to Jesse Kornbluth of Head Butler for introducing me to it.]

    There were many reasons I enjoyed the book, which is really many books at once:

    -- The author, Dr Victoria Sweet, who has a PhD in medieval history as well as an MD, shares the ancient Latin and Greek etymologies of many terms used in patient care today. Hospitality, community, charity - what do they really mean? Through her stories about her time taking care of patients, Dr Sweet shows how those formed the three foundational principles of Laguna Honda Hospital.

    -- Dr Sweet interweaves the account of her doctoral research on Hildegard von Bingen in the story. Von Bingen was the original 11th century superwoman: head cleric, builder, farmer, physician, author *and* composer at a time when women weren't allowed much power at all. Dr Sweet applies some of the premodern principles from von Bingen's healing framework to her patients, with encouraging results.

    -- Dr Sweet describes in great detail and without spite the encroachment of modern medicine with its "efficiencies" into the cozy, personable and strangely effective ways of Laguna Honda, even though there is much to provoke the reader's dismay. The personal, health and financial consequences of cost-cutting, both on patients and staff, turn out to be much higher than the dollars that those measures purport to save. It's a cautionary tale about what medicine can be vs. what it has become, and should be required reading for every medical student.

    -- And most of all, the stories of the patients. Laguna Honda being a hospital for the care of the indigent - the last almshouse in the US - its patients are people that the good life left behind. The poor, the mentally ill, the unlucky, those with nowhere else to go: these are the patients that Laguna Honda treats equally and without prejudice. Sometimes the patient goes to the brink of death, the 'anima' already halfway in ascent, and turns back. Other times, the patients make miraculous recoveries only to succumb to alcohol or neglect once discharged. These case histories are at once invigorating, enlightening, infuriating and heartbreaking. They are the human heart of the book.

    One of the side effects of reading any book is to become partially imbued with the spirit of its author. Reading 'God's Hotel', you get a sense that Dr Victoria Sweet is a deeply thoughtful and compassionate person, and one of the very best kind of caregivers one could hope to have. As a result, this book will not only delight and instruct you, but is also likely to leave you a better human being.

    -- Ali Binazir, M.D., M.Phil., author of [...], the highest-rated dating self-help book on Amazon
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2014
    In the late 80's and early 90's I used to take the bus to visit a good friend and we'd pass Laguna Honda. A co-worker's grandmother was recuperating from a stroke at one point during this time and I was awed by what I could see of the grounds and there was something comforting about the old buildings. A lot has happened since then and San Francisco is no longer home but two years ago I immediately bought the Kindle edition and promptly forgot it for two years. Earlier this year I downloaded it and was immediately immersed in medieval medicine and Dr. Sweet's exploration of slow medicine. Before finishing the second or third chapter I decided to buy the Audible unabridged version, thinking this would be enjoyable to listen to. Imagine my delight upon discovering the reader is none other than Victoria Sweet herself. She's not a professional reader polished by experience but so compelling are the stories she has to tell that no one else could bring them to life better than she. Her often candid but always respectful descriptions of co-workers, superiors and above all, her patients, their triumphs and failures, their life histories - all are recounted by the woman who has first hand knowledge of it all. Even the most roguish patient, the most unfortunate stories of mental illness compounded by physical infirmity are introduced and discussed with compassion and a subtle humor.

    I thoroughly enjoyed hearing her stories of her pilgrimage - an act of devotion undertaken in stages. Each segment was completed annually during vacation or leave and we are right there with her and her travel partner (if only we could all choose travel buddies as perfect as hers sounded). Having undertaken Buddhist pilgrimages I can truly relate to her happiness suffusing what would normally be considered miserable in everyday settings. One understands her faith is important to her but as she recounts the pilgrimage adventures there is no mention of religious dogma. Here is a person who quietly and without fanfare lives her beliefs and to this reviewer, embodies what one teacher terms an "undercover bodhisattva".

    This is a book to savor slowly or gobble up in a few sleepless nights. It's a homage to the practice of medicine of the past, a candid look at today's managed health "care", a most interesting and evenhanded look at political maneuvering and still I was left with the impression that slow medicine will once again find its way back into the mainstream - perhaps our great grandchildren will demand it.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2016
    Fascinating. At first, I thought I would not get into it .... I am squeamish ... sigh ... but I carried on, and I am so very, very glad I did. The author's knowledge, perceptions, etc., re modern medicine are interesting. I really like this gal, and would love it if she were my doc. She produced a very entertaining and informative read, however, the book needed good editing. There were the occasional redundancies ... she would start a paragraph with a statement, follow it up with the background to support her original statement, and then finish the paragraph stating exactly what she had said at the beginning of the paragraph. Also, the book included many incomplete sentences. Although none of this detracted from her basic message, for me, it did detract from the work in its entirety. I kept going back to say, "Huh, didn't she just say that? Huh, didn't she just say that in an incomplete sentence?" Minor quibbles, for sure, but then why should I have had to quibble at all? I do not have an English degree, but these things definitely jumped out at me. In any event, it was a good read, provides much food for thought, and I do recommended it.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2024
    Great read! I just started but already find it very interesting.

Top reviews from other countries

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  • Fulya
    2.0 out of 5 stars Diary of a Doctor
    Reviewed in Germany on January 27, 2016
    Although the use of language was quite good and some stories were interesting, this book is nothing more than a simple diary of a doctor. Most importantly even it lacks the emotions that should exist in a diary.
  • npdy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente obra
    Reviewed in Spain on October 20, 2015
    Una profesional de la medicina plenamente cualificada cuestiona los criterios de eficiencia y eficacia al uso en los sistemas sanitarios occidentales, desde su experiencia de largos años en una institución "benéfica" más allá de la primera acepción del término. El estilo narrativo es el relato sencillo, directo y ameno, pero también plagado de opiniones y reflexiones. Debería traducirse.
  • mindriots
    5.0 out of 5 stars More than highly recommended.
    Reviewed in Canada on February 13, 2013
    A beautiful book for nurses, doctors, healthcare professionals, and patients alike. One of the best books I have read in a long time. Victoria Sweet sucks you in; you become part of her world in the hospital, and can see everything she describes. It is a moving, compelling, and wonderfully human read. It is also pretty heart-breaking to read about the bureaucratic nonsense that governs healthcare and that ultimately wins out because, as we all know, money usually does. She gets to the heart of it all, and she does it with such poise and grace in her writing and interpretation of situations and encounters that both makes me happy that she is a Physician, and sad that there aren't more like her.

    I am so happy Dr. Sweet wrote this book; it is so accessible. She writes with understanding and compassion, and as someone who seems to *get* it, rationally and realistically speaking. She describes so perfectly one of the fundamental problems of north american healthcare: lack of time. Taking away time destroys the ability to give optimal healthcare, and she captures this perfectly.

    As Dr. Sweet finds herself doing with Hildegard of Bingen, I now find myself thinking, "hmmm...what would Dr. Sweet do?" - which tells me that this book really impacted me and my nursing practice!
  • Docstevewarren
    5.0 out of 5 stars "Hôtel-Dieu".... most inspirational
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 17, 2013
    Today's society norm of taking care of its sick poor originates from the time when monks in the Benedictine era (600 A.D.) were charged to put this duty above all other duties. The Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, regarded as the oldest hospital in the city of Paris, France, was founded by monks in the seventh century. Eventually nuns had sole charge of their patients and only invited physicians in occasionally for difficult patients! This was the time of pre-modern medicine when the world was still understood in Greek terms to consist of four elements, earth, water, air and fire and the body consisted of four humors black bile, yellow bile, blood and phlegm. Everything had to be in balance and the remedy for illness was to correct that balance using diet, bleeding, herbal medicines & changes to climate. The interpretation became known as the "System of Fours" and is all very strange to us.
    Dr. Victoria Sweet is a contemporary American doctor who developed an interest in pre-modern medicine. In her remarkable book called God's Hotel published in 2012, she gives a riveting account of her practice at Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco whilst studying the work of Hildegard of Bingen, who practiced the old art of medieval medicine.
    Laguna Honda Hospital is reputedly the oldest "almshouse" (charitable institution for the poor) in America. It was built in 1866 and was based on the "Hôtel-Dieu" principle, that of seeking to relieve pain of one who does not deserve. Its role was particularly significant during a smallpox epidemic in 1868 and in the earthquake and fire of 1908. In the 20 years that Dr Sweet spent in the original hospital building, she cared for patients not covered by insurance including complex medical cases, failed surgical cases, terminally ill patients, revolving door patients (repeatedly being readmitted), drug addicts, alcoholics and the street sleepers. With "progress" in such matters as health economics, privacy laws, disability rights and the march against institutional care the hospital came under one expensive investigation after another.
    Hildegard (1098 to 1179 A.D.) of Bingen, Germany was a truly remarkable woman. Not only a devout nun, she was a composer, author, theologian, lexicographer (wrote a dictionary) and expert in pre-modern medicine. She advocated such things as a good diet, quietness, sex, liquids (deep sleep), fresh air and sunlight. She was well known for her healing powers using tinctures, herbs, and precious stones.
    As a result of the enlightenment and the scientific revolution that followed in the 18th century the system of fours that had been around for centuries was finally & totally discredited. We now know that the body is not healthy through a balance of four humors but by respecting its remarkable composition of living cells. But the question that arose in Dr Sweet's mind was whether or not one could learn anything from Hildegard's practice. Could Hildegard's approach to the patient be usefully applied to any of Dr Sweet's patients in Laguna Honda Hospital?
    God's Hotel is a gripping book and a must read for all health care and allied professionals. In the light of the NHS scandal at the Mid Staffordshire Hospital and the subsequent report by Robert Francis QC, it is also a must read for politicians and NHS Managers! It is also a good read for anyone who is interested in getting back the balance in their troubled lives through societal issues or sickness.
  • L F
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read
    Reviewed in Canada on October 20, 2020
    Really enjoyed this memoir of a Dr’s personal and professional journey. It’s so refreshing to hear from someone who has wrestled through what works and doesn’t with both modern and pre-modern methods and ideologies. A reminder that progress doesn’t have to throw out the baby with the bath water as far as what has worked before. I believe we are coming to realize as a society that maybe industrialism and efficiency have taken as much as they have given. (Some reviews had issue with her using patient and colleague names in the book - she does make a note that all the names she used were pseudonyms. It’s important to read the whole book!).