We created a book whose title implies things you should do in Brazil before you die. But that, in fact, reports on the ordinary, everyday things people were doing just before being violently killed. The book is a collection of one hundred actual news from Estadão, one of the largest newspapers in Brazil.

After a long search in the archive of articles from Estadão, we found one hundred real stories about victims of violence in Brazil and what they were doing moments before being killed. Then, we turned all those tragic stories into a book. We did it in a way that, at first sight, the book cover makes you think it’s about amazing things to do before you die. But once you open it, you realize it’s actually about victims of violent crimes in Brazil. By the end, one hundred books were printed and sent to some human rights activists and the most relevant politicians in Brazil, including the minister of Public Safety, Raul Jungmann, and the President Michel Temer.

We sent the book to dozens of politicians with the aim of putting pressure on them to find solutions for violence in Brazil. Along with the book, we sent a letter inviting them to share their proposals of new laws as well as asking them how we can change our reality. Many politicians contacted us, including Sâmia Bomfim, councilwoman of the city of São Paulo. According to her, initiatives like this book are extremely important for calling attention to this issue and drawing the subject of violence to the political discussions. From now on, Estadão wants to emphasize even more the news about violent crimes, giving them the attention they deserve. And that is just the beginning of this campaign: in phase two, we’ll send the book to our paying subscribers to make the campaign grow and the message reach more people. Because we believe that information leads to change.