Tuberculosis is a disease that kills over 1 million people every year, so why is it that much of the Global North thinks of it as a disease of the past? Why is a curable disease still killing so many people? In his new book, “Everything is Tuberculosis,” John Green tackles the history and current reality of a disease that has, in many ways, shaped our world. “Everything is Tuberculosis” centers on answering the question of why access to the TB cure is limited in regions where the disease is most prevalent, challenging the plethora of assumptions that have been made about the disease throughout history.
Green’s self-awareness, ability to explore the complexities surrounding tuberculosis and evident deep passion for the topic make this an unchallenging yet immensely informative read. “Everything is Tuberculosis,” leaves the reader convinced of Green’s central point: that the root cause of tuberculosis is systemic inequality, not just in healthcare, but in housing, education and food security, and that the disease exacerbates these inequalities. One of the book’s strengths is that it includes straightforward explanations of the modern healthcare landscape, while acknowledging the limits of viewing the issue through only this lens.
The book covers a plethora of topics, jumping from cowboy hats to beauty standards and the ways they connect to TB. However, Green is able to bring the whole narrative together through powerful ethos, grounding it in the real story of a young boy named Henry.
When Green first traveled to Sierra Leone, he met a 17-year-old tuberculosis patient named Henry, a young man characterized by his exuberance and ability to encourage and uplift those around him, even his doctors and nurses. In 2019, Henry was admitted to the state hospital of Lakka after his condition worsened. The poet, scholar, son and now TikTok creator had to face the frustrating healthcare inequities in Sierra Leone. By focusing on one individual with whom Green has clearly established a strong relationship, the author confronts the stigma and longstanding dehumanization or romanticization of tuberculosis patients.
Another strength of the book is its ability to provide a comprehensive overview of the disease for those with little familiarity with it. Through this work, the reader learns of the connection between TB and HIV, including how HIV makes individuals more susceptible to TB. While reading, I also learned that TB is the leading cause of infectious death, with around 1.25 million people dying from the disease each year. Green acknowledges that it’s hard to fathom and process this statistic, but still tries to put it in context.
The book also includes historical details, such as how Pasadena and Colorado Springs were created for TB patients and how New Mexico became a state in part because of TB. Green additionally includes a page about Dr. Alan L. Hart, who pioneered the use of X-ray photography in tuberculosis detection, a piece of technology that has helped detect a substantial number of TB cases. In 1918, Hart was outed as a transgender man and forced to relocate from California with his wife.
Despite the novel’s numerous strengths, there are times it leans towards pontification and abstraction. Examples of this include the connection to a Kurt Vonnegut poem and lines such as, “to inspire is to breathe in,” both of which can read as overly philosophical for a work of nonfiction.
However, this weakness is outweighed by Green’s expert ability to navigate the critical question of how we imagine illness rather than just strategizing how we treat it, and by novel ideas such as “virtuous cycles” that help reframe how we think about tuberculosis care and treatment. The work even challenges historical assumptions about the disease, such as the long-held belief that TB is linked to creativity. This effectively helps illustrate the stigma surrounding the disease to readers who have never had contact with tuberculosis patients.
Green’s work amplifies voices like Henry’s that often go unheard in conversations about tuberculosis. I would highly recommend “Everything is Tuberculosis,” especially to those who are fans of Green’s “The Anthropocene Reviewed,” for both books contain Green’s reflective, probing and wide-ranging style of turning seemingly straightforward events and phenomena into gripping page-turners — even when discussing cell replication rates and sanatoriums.
