“This innovative study illuminates Afro-Brazilian women’s experiences in the realms of intimacy, marriage, and divorce. An important contribution!”
— Kia Lilly Caldwell, author of Health Equity in Brazil: Intersections of Gender, Race, and Policy
"From the opening vignette, this vibrant, conceptually sophisticated, and yet accessible ethnography draws us into the contested terrain of intimate relations and divorce in Northeast Brazil. Medeiros skillfully depicts the voices and experiences of rural, working-class women of African descent, helping us see how their lives are shaped both by their own strivings and by forces as diverse as telenovelas and ecotourism. Her work represents a valuable contribution to the emerging anthropology of divorce as well as to work on emotion, gender, race, class, companionate marriage, social suffering, and even the anthropology of tourism."
— Jennifer S. Hirsch, coauthor of The Secret: Love, Marriage and HIV