Recommended by a friend who is interested in ‘slow medicine’, this book by a physician and a PhD in the history of medicine, weaves together several elements into an interesting tale and a recipe for addressing some of the current health system’s most serious failings.

Sweet came to medicine a bit late having explored other careers and then combined her MD with a PhD exploring the work and philosophy of Hildegard of Blingen, a 12th C German nun-healer. Hilegard’s approach to medicine provided Sweet with an alternative way to care for the challenging patients she was responsible for at San Francisco’s Laguna Honda hospital.

It is the hospital that provides the through story for Sweet’s gradual embrace of slow medicine, applying Hildegard’s concept of veriditas, the green spirit that all living things bring to the world.  By sitting and spending quiet time with her patients and by keeping in mind Hildegard’s concepts of balance in the four humors (earth, air, fire, water) and their seasons, she is able to gradually accept and embrace the ‘fallen souls’ who populate San Francisco’s old almshouse as it goes through an inevitable transition to modern medical care.

Sweet also goes through a major personal transition as she traverses the 1200 mile Camino de Santiago pilgrimmage trail through France and Spain.  Welcoming every day; managing the unexpected disappointments and positive experiences; patience and persistence—these are elements that Sweet brought back to Laguna.  With her detailed and often funny bios of many patients, the ‘evil’ administrators, and the heroic nurses and doctors, the book, though a bit uneven with slow slogs through some sections, had many engaging and fascinating parts as well.

If you have any interest in modern medical care and the changes we’re all experiencing whether as doctors, administrators, or patients, this is a good book for you.  Not everyone will find this 412 page ‘pilgrimmage’ worth the effort, but I thank Bob for the recommendation.