Death Without Weeping is an ethnography written by Nancy Scheper-Hughes about the high infant mortality rates in Northeastern Brazil and the social, psychological, political, and cultural factors behind it. The author begins by giving a background of the region such as the major industry (sugar), and the class breakdown. The rest of the book analyzes the poorest class, particularly the mothers and their children. The overall health of the people is very bad. Hunger is always present in the lives of the people of Alto do Cruzeiro. The constant hunger has turned into a part of the culture. Due to the lack of food, poor healthcare systems, and overall poverty infants and children die at an alarming rate. Mothers don't get attached to infants and often experience relief when they pass away. Many rationalizations exist as to why these babies die. Common rationalizations are that they weren't meant for this life, they had an illness, there wasn't enough food for them, etc. The author closely follows the lives of three sisters and tells their stories to get an in-depth understanding of what goes on in everyday life there. As the book progresses, the author encourages the reader to not label the mothers in this region as cold or unfit. The situation they are in causes this type of cultural understanding of child death. The people and mothers in this region are just trying to survive the despair all around them. The book closes with the description of protest that the people of this region have tried. Scheper-Hughes concludes by encouraging readers to try and find a middle ground to relate to the people of Northeast Brazil.
