Review: Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green

When much loved author John Green visited Serra Leone with his wife Sarah to do some research into maternal and neonatal healthcare systems (the country has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world,) he was not expecting to become friends with Henry, a young man with the body of a boy, who was fighting tuberculosis. The meeting prompted Green to investigate further into the treatment and outcomes for TB patients in Serra Leone. What he found would rightly shock many people--that tuberculosis, which has been easily diagnosable and curable since the 1950s, is still one of the deadliest diseases in the world due to the medical inequalities that exist across the globe. In short, over a million people each year die of tuberculosis based on where they live and the medical treatment available.

Angry yet? I know I am. 

John Green has used his anger to create this book. He examines the history of tuberculosis, the myths and stigma that surrounds the disease, the role of drug companies and the inequalities and injustices that exist across the globe. He also tells the story of Henry, a story which, fortunately, ends on a hopeful note. 

Everything is Tuberculosis not opened my eyes to a disease that I knew little of, but to the scale of medical inequality that exists in the world. The book is written in a way that will be accessible not only to adults, but to teenagers who may already be familiar with the author's YA fiction novels.

Hugely insightful. Highly recommend.

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