Everything Is Tuberculosis is a powerful and deeply human exploration of one of the world’s oldest and deadliest diseases and why it still exists today. Tuberculosis has been entwined with humanity for thousands of years. Once romanticized as an illness of artists and poets, it is now a disease shaped by poverty, injustice, and global inequality.

In Everything Is Tuberculosis, John Green shares his personal journey after meeting Henry, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone. Henry’s warmth, resilience, and humor leave a lasting impact, transforming Green from an observer into a passionate advocate. Through their friendship, the book reveals how a disease that is both curable and preventable continues to claim 1.5 million lives each year.

Blending storytelling, history, and social insight, Everything Is Tuberculosis helps readers understand how healthcare inequities allow this illness to persist. Clear, compassionate, and easy to understand, the book is a call for awareness, empathy, and action—reminding us that ending tuberculosis is not just a medical challenge, but a moral one.