Everything Is Tuberculosis

In Everything Is Tuberculosis, bestselling author and healthcare advocate John Green tells the deeply human story of one of the world’s oldest (and deadliest) infectious diseases.

Tuberculosis has been intertwined with human history for thousands of years. Once romanticized as an affliction of artists and poets, it is now widely understood as a disease shaped by poverty, inequality, and unequal access to healthcare. Yet tuberculosis is both preventable and curable, even as it continues to claim more than a million lives each year.

In 2019, Green met Henry Reider, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone. The two quickly became friends, and Henry’s story would change Green’s understanding of the disease and inspire his growing advocacy for global healthcare reform.

Woven around Henry’s life is the extraordinary scientific, social, and political history of tuberculosis, from its ancient origins to the present-day fight for equitable access to treatment. Green explores how humanity’s choices have shaped the course of the disease, and how our choices today can shape its future.

Moving, illuminating, and deeply compassionate, Everything Is Tuberculosis is both a portrait of a remarkable friendship and a powerful examination of the healthcare inequalities that determine who lives, who suffers, and who gets the chance to be cured.