by John Green
Instant #1 New York Times bestseller! • #1 Washington Post bestseller! • #1 Indie Bestseller! • USA Today Bestseller! John Green, acclaimed author and passionate advocate for global healthcare reform, tells a deeply human story illuminating the fight against the world’s deadliest infectious disease. “The real magic of Green’s writing is the deeply considerate, human touch that goes into every word.” –The Associated Press ″Told with the intelligence, wit, and tragedy that have become hallmarks of the author’s work.... This is the story of us.” –Slate “Earnest and empathetic.” –The New York Times Tuberculosis has been entwined with humanity for millennia. Once romanticized as a malady of poets, today tuberculosis is seen as a disease of poverty that walks the trails of injustice and inequity we blazed for it. In 2019, author John Green met Henry Reider, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone. John became fast friends with Henry, a boy with spindly legs and a big, goofy smile. In the years since that first visit to Lakka, Green has become a vocal advocate for increased access to treatment and wider awareness of the healthcare inequities that allow this curable, preventable infectious disease to also be the deadliest, killing over a million people every year. In Everything Is Tuberculosis, John tells Henry’s story, woven through with the scientific and social histories of how tuberculosis has shaped our world—and how our choices will shape the future of tuberculosis.
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Bridges summary
John Green's powerful exploration of tuberculosis in *Everything Is Tuberculosis* forms an unexpected but deeply resonant bridge for readers who have also found themselves captivated by the profound explorations of the human condition found in works like Mitch Albom's *Twice* and Clare Leslie Hall's *Broken Country*. While seemingly disparate in genre and subject matter, these books collectively illuminate a shared human experience of confronting and navigating overwhelming adversity, whether it's the lingering specter of mortality and remembrance in *Twice*, the challenging personal journeys through societal hardship in *Broken Country*, or the unrelenting global fight against a devastating infectious disease in Green's latest offering. The connection between *Everything Is Tuberculosis* and *Twice* lies in their mutual delving into the deep wells of human resilience. Albom, through his narrative, often grapples with how individuals carry the weight of loss and memory, finding ways to transcend or integrate these burdens into their present lives. Similarly, Green, by centering the story of Henry Reider, a young boy battling tuberculosis, reveals the extraordinary strength and spirit of individuals facing a disease that has historically been romanticized but is now starkly understood as a consequence of poverty and systemic injustice. Both authors, in their unique ways, explore how characters (or real individuals, in Green's case) confront seemingly insurmountable challenges and discover their capacity for endurance and even joy amidst suffering, suggesting a contemplative spirit that might draw readers to both the fictional and non-fictional accounts of struggle.
Furthermore, *Everything Is Tuberculosis* shares a crucial thematic bridge with Clare Leslie Hall's *Broken Country* through their incisive examination of societal ills and the individual's arduous navigation of them. Hall's work, often praised for its deeply personal and character-driven exploration of hardship, likely resonates with readers who are drawn to understanding how systemic issues manifest in individual lives. Green's approach in *Everything Is Tuberculosis* offers a compelling intellectual counterpart to this. He doesn't merely present a scientific or historical account of the disease; he weaves this knowledge through the intimate narrative of Henry Reider, transforming stark facts about tuberculosis into a palpable human story. This intersection of the grand, societal forces – poverty, inequity, global health disparities – with the intensely personal, everyday battle for survival is a potent commonality between these works. Readers who appreciated the nuanced portrayal of individual struggles against larger backdrops in *Broken Country* will find a similar intellectual and emotional engagement in *Everything Is Tuberculosis*, as Green meticulously details how the choices we make, both individually and collectively, have shaped the devastating trajectory of this curable yet deadliest infectious disease. The tension between the preventable nature of tuberculosis and its pervasive reality, a critical element in Green's book, echoes the quiet, persistent struggles that often define the human condition, a theme that seems to capture the interest of a reader who connects with the profound, often overlooked, battles for dignity and survival presented across these diverse narratives. Ultimately, this cluster of connected books, including *Everything Is Tuberculosis*, *Twice*, and *Broken Country*, speaks to a reader's keen interest in stories that illuminate not only the depths of human suffering but also the remarkable, often understated, power of resilience and the enduring quest for justice and understanding.
Seth Godin