God’s Hotel by Victoria Sweet

God’s Hotel is an old-fashioned alms house, one of the last of its kind, in California. Dr. Victoria Sweet gives us a richly detailed glimpse into the history of medicine, the nature of doctor-patient relationships, the politics of health care and tight budgets, and her voyage of self-discovery. Based on her decades of experience at God’s Hotel, the book is peopled by fascinating characters, all in need of medical attention and many of them denied the time and personal respect required to determine what would make them better. What’s most gratifying is that the book lives up to the title: God’s Hotel. (Riverhead)