ivi_reads_books 's review for:

Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green

4.5

hopeful informative sad fast-paced

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I went into this essay not knowing much about tuberculosis—and came out shocked by how much I didn’t know. John Green brilliantly blends history, science, and personal reflection to show how TB went from being romanticized in the West (think: “consumption,” tragic artists wasting away) to becoming a neglected disease once it stopped affecting wealthy white countries. 

This is a deeply human, infuriating, and eye-opening read. Green exposes how racism, global inequality, and profit-driven pharmaceutical companies all contribute to the ongoing TB crisis. One of the most heartbreaking takeaways: we could help everyone infected with TB if life-saving drugs were made affordable and accessible—but we don’t. 

Through the story of a young boy with TB, Green paints a vivid picture of the stigma and infantilization faced by Africans with the disease. And he’s not afraid to tie in his own experiences with OCD and depression, creating a powerful thread about vulnerability, suffering, and systemic failure. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content

Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, Slavery, Colonisation