Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green

Of the nonfiction titles that we considered for our book club, Everything is Tuberculosis sounded the most intriguing and it was written by a well-known author, who also happens to be one of my favorites. This is an interesting and, at time, a somewhat infuriating discussion of the deadliest disease to affect humankind. 

Although Green is most notable for his young adult award winning books, he has become an advocate of global health initiatives. In August of 2019 as a member of the Partners in Health. He traveled to Sierra Leone wher he met Henry Reider, a teenager, who has battled tuberculosis  through peaks and valleys of treatment. It is through Henry that Green relates the importance of fighting this disease. 

The title refers to how health and disease are implicated in so much of our culture. He ties Pasadena, California, Stetson hats, Adirondack chairs, and the start of World War I to the disease. Henry's story began when he was six and showed signs of weakness, experienced weight loss and night sweats- all signs that pointed to tuberculosis. But the initial tests came back negative and accordingly, he wasn't treated. This happens so much of the time and is a reason that the disease spreads so virulently, even though it is a bacteria. Once the diagnosis was made, the treatment was started, the regimen is brutal, especially in a very poor, country. The mixture of drugs need to be taken on a very regulated schedule and on a full stomach. With so many in 3rd world countries not having sufficient food, the drugs are ineffective. 

Green includes many statistics to show how tuberculosis is spread, goes undetected, and is prone to drug resistance. After years of treatment, when nearly on his death bed, Henry got lucky and has survived and is now an advocate for treatment of the disease with his own YouTube channel. 

The message that Green impresses on the reader is that the challenge of global health is "the cure is where the disease is not, and the disease is where the cure is not.” If tuberculosis affected the rich, a detection and a cure would be on the horizon. Pharmaceutical companies have inflated the cost of medication, to make it nearly impossible for those in poverty areas to afford it. The World Health Organization has been involved in securing money for some of those areas, but it is not enough. USAID also worked on providing medication, but that aid was pulled when the agency was terminated. Green calls the world to action in eliminating not only the disease but the stigma of it.

An excellent and thought-provoking read.

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

Set on a fictional sub-Antarctica island, Wild Dark Shore is novel of many themes. It centers around the Salt family who are there to oversee the vast vault of seeds that are to be protected for the sustenance of life on earth. Each chapter of the book is narrated by one of the family members - Dominic the father, Fen, the 18 year old daughter, Raf, the 17 yearol old son and Orly, the youngest son who is 9 years old. The family moved to Shearwater Island shortly after Orly's birth and the death of Claire, wife and mother.

The wildlife on the island and stark character of the topography are secondary characters as McConaghy depicts the interaction with the family. One evening in the midst of an horrendous storm as boat is shipwrecked on the island and the only survivor is a woman, Rowan. Her husband, Hank, was one of the men assigned to the island to protect the seeds and do research. She hadn't heard from him and was there to try to ascertain his whereabouts. The seed vault was being closed and all the men who  had been assigned to it had been sent home and that is what the Salt family has indicated to Rowan. 

She becomes an integral part of the family as they took care of her tattered body and nursed her back to health. The reader knows that there will be more to the story, but McConaghy develops it slowly. Fen's behavior of wanting to be alone, Raf's study of the whales, and Orly's fascination with the seeds reflect times in each of their pasts. When Rowan discovers Hank's passport and papers, the plot thickens and she is determined to discover exactly what happened to him. 

The resolution of the plot comes quickly in the last few chapters. The revelation of the Hank's situation and his relationship to the Salt family is too say the least, disturbing.Wild Dark Shore combines so many themes in one novel - grief, resilience, love and trust, the impact of climate change and the appreciation of wild life. For the reader, the ending encapsulates both despair and hope. It is up to that reader to decide which it really is.