---
product_id: 8171133
title: "God's Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine"
brand: "victoria sweet"
price: "$43.57"
currency: USD
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.us/products/8171133-gods-hotel-a-doctor-a-hospital-and-a-pilgrimage-to
store_origin: US
region: United States of America
---

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

**Brand:** victoria sweet
**Price:** $43.57
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** God's Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine by victoria sweet
- **How much does it cost?** $43.57 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.us](https://www.desertcart.us/products/8171133-gods-hotel-a-doctor-a-hospital-and-a-pilgrimage-to)

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- victoria sweet enthusiasts

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## Description

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

## Images

![God's Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine - Image 1](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41JSwwpy4DL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    The Power of Dr. Diet, Dr. Quiet, Dr. Merryman and Dr. Love
  

*by M***A on Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2017*

We stand at the cross roads of medicine, a battle for the soul of medicine. The old way versus the new way. We have become so sure of technology and been lead to believe that if we don't get on the more medicine is better medicine train, that we are old fashioned and not "good" doctors. However, God's Hotel, has us all pause before we cross that threshold. Somehow complicated sick patients that everyone gave up when in a caring environment, on less medications, and given the "tincture" of time will get better, sometimes miraculously. There is a fatal flaw to certain things in modern medicine that will never be able to be quantified and thus not adequately included in clinical studies."Dr. Diet, Dr. Quiet, and Dr. Merryman" are critical to what gives us purpose and the ability for the body and mind to recover. Dr. Sweet reminds us that in the end love is the most powerful medicine. 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. As a practicing physician, in the uncertainty of what healthcare will become, we need to heed the advice before the lost art of healing and the compassion of medicine is forgotten.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    If you work or study medicine, enjoy medieval music, and consider yourself a "pilgrim" in life......this book is for you.
  

*by B***Y on Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2016*

This is how we are drawn to read books.On a recent trip to San Francisco, sitting at the Forest Park bus station, I gazed across the street and asked my friend what kind of hospital is Laguna Honda, that pinkish Spanish looking hacienda style building across the street. Oh, my friend said, my friend "Barbara", was a nurse and retired from there....and I am told there is actually a book written about the hospital. Later in my visit I met Barbara and listened to her story, which in turn led to me downloading "God's Hotel". Having worked in Medicine in my career, possessing an interest in the meditative qualities of medieval music, and somewhat of a "pilgrim" in my approach to life I was quickly engaged with the book's story all the way to the end."God's Hotel" is written by Victoria Sweet who we meet at the beginning of the book, a new MD clinician at the beginning of her career in medicine. She is drawn to work at Laguna Honda because of it's unusual status as one of the last free public hospitals for the chronically ill poor, a medieval alms house, in the world. It is patterned on the Hotel Dieu in Paris. However, practically it allowed Dr. Sweet to pursue a Ph.D in the History of Medicine by only requiring her to work in the Admitting Ward part-time. At the hospital she quickly becomes very engaged in caring for patients because the hospital's operating method allowed both physicians and nurses a great deal of freedom to pursue their healing art and science. At the same time, she finds a mentor for her Ph.D studies in pre-modern medicine with a doctor whose office is in one of the almost forgotten tower rooms.In the early chapters, "God's Hotel" juxtaposes Sweets increasing knowledge of pre-modern medicine through the study of the Benedictine Nun, Hildegard von Bingen and her treatment of patients. You, the reader may be familiar with her music! These first chapters lay out this medieval nun's understanding of the human body and what determines health and illness. Sweet frequently finds opportunities to examine her patients, understand their illness, and by applying Hildegard von Bingen's insights in pre-modern medicine.Lest you, the prospective reader of this book leap to the conclusion this is yet another book on homepathy, quack remedies, and the danger of vaccinations - it is not that.The main story in the book is the tension between Laguna Honda, as an Alms House, and it's progressive encounter with the pressures for modern, efficient health care delivery driven by insurers and hospital administrations. Sweet walks us through this encounter in a very personal way through the lives of her patients and her journey as a physician. Later in the book, she actually makes her thought and belief pilgrimage real by walking over fours years the famous  St. Jean de Compostela pilgrimage route in France and Spain.If you work or study medicine, enjoy medieval music, and consider yourself a "pilgrim" in life......this book is for you.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    The story put me in mind of my student nurse experiences at Bellevue Hospital over 50 years ago ( also "a hospital of last resor
  

*by J***T on Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2016*

Read this some time ago and was most impressed with the author's superb writing ability. The story put me in mind of my student nurse experiences at Bellevue Hospital over 50 years ago ( also "a hospital of last resort of sorts" ) for many of New York City's poor and forgotten. Dr. Sweet's  ability to intertwine her medical experiences with her scholarly endeavors makes for an unusually compelling story. I couldn't put the book down. I bought this book as a birthday present for another nurse friend who, along with the author and myself, remembers a time and a place where individual patients were appreciated for their individuality and listened to in a way that no longer exists. My friend also could not put the book down and lent it to a retired physician who also enjoyed the book immensely.

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*Product available on Desertcart United States of America*
*Store origin: US*
*Last updated: 2026-02-13*