Gosh I love a good snappy non-fiction about a topic I'm not altogether familiar with. John Green has fashioned a lovely little book to spread awareness of a topic most of us won’t be familiar with: Tuberculosis. He examines the history of the disease, the metaphors attributed to it, and how those metaphors affect our modern perception and the care people receive. 


The book is incredibly easy to read. John Green certainly knows how to weave a tale, offering up case studies on individuals he has interacted with in his own work on Tuberculosis. Green also seems to have a clear eyed understanding of the systems that have contributed to the crisis, economic systems that value profit over human life, systems of white-supremacy and colonialism that treat certain lives as less valuable than others, ableism, paternalism, and stigma that makes the disease harder to treat.

But this is where I need to start criticizing.

I think the goal of this book is to spread awareness, but I think it falls far short of a call-to-action. I think this is because, while Green seems willing to examine the systems that contribute to the problem, he is unwilling to actually criticize them, or suggest concrete actions to disrupt the systems that are causing harm. John Green places the blame on “all of us”, and offers no concrete steps for “all of us” to take in order to meaningfully contribute to the fight to cure TB. And that is because “all of us” are not equally to blame for this crisis. When we individualize a systemic crisis, it can be incredibly disempowering. It can leave us feeling like Tuberculosis still exists because we haven't fixed it (when obviously one person cannot fix this). Tuberculosis still exists because it is not profitable to cure it, and global health systems prioritize cheap treatment over effective treatment. The true action that needs to be taken involves disrupting those systems of capitalism, colonialism and white supremacy. It requires dismantling a global health system that prioritizes profit over effective treatment of TB.
Which is all to say: this is essentially a liberalist book, not truly interested in individual action, but in “raising awareness” in abstract ways that do not confront systems of power. I was left feeling that this is more a book full of fun facts on TB that white folks can discuss at a dinner party than a really empowering text that looks wants to spur readers to action.

Everything is Tuberculosis was a fun quick read. There are some beautiful personal stories. But I would love to see a version of this book that is willing to really dig in and deconstruct the systems causing the crisis, rather than pointing the finger back at the reader in an abstract way to individualize an obviously systemic issue.

Man leaves the formal navy to join the slutty dragon air force and befriends a dragon who is smarter and more enjoyable than all English humans combined