Author Archives: storiesfromtheskin

Julia has a tattoo on her wrist to represent her late grandmother’s initials and the day she passed away. The tattoo is small and dainty, with cursive writing like her grandmother’s. Julia picked her left wrist as it was her left hand holding her grandmother’s hand when she took her last few breaths. Julia explainsContinue reading “Julia: Eternal love”

Jennifer H. is a woman in her late 30s from Edmonton, Alberta. She has a tattoo of a Klimt painting on her inner bicep. It has been customized to represent her daughter, who is a redhead, and it is located close to her chest where her daughter lay. When her daughter was conceived, she knewContinue reading “Jennifer H.: Love conquers all”

Jean has a tattoo of two flowers with script in between to represent healing from a sexual assault. She describes getting the tattoo as a “physical assertion of the ownership I have over my own body.” She wanted traditional tattoo features with a strong-looking script. The placement of the tattoo is on her upper thigh,Continue reading “Jean: Ownership over one’s own body”

Jade is a 56-year-old from San Miguel de Allende. She got her tattoo to cover the scars from a double mastectomy, stating, “It gave me back my confidence and freedom to not focus on what I didn’t have, but to focus on the cool artwork I did have.” She said the tattoo design was aContinue reading “Jade: Confidence and freedom”

J Bee started dancing when she was 2 ½ years old. Her journey and identity as a dancer were impacted by her diagnosis of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. She explains, “I suffered deformities in my hands, and my hip joint disintegrated and resulted in a joint replacement surgery at the age of 26.” Because of herContinue reading “J Bee: Once a dancer, always a dancer”

Eliza B. has tattoos of branches and flowers on her arm to cover her scars from self-harm. Eliza B. explains, “The branches were drawn around the healed portions of my arm with the intent that the design could be added to when more of my scars healed.” Eliza B. started covering her self-injury scars whenContinue reading “Eliza B.: Healing from years of treating myself so poorly”

E.P. is a woman in her 50s. She is married and considers herself a Christian. E.P. spent many years caring full-time for her mother who was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. During that time, she was also a parent to three teenagers and says that “day by day” became her mantra when she felt overwhelmed orContinue reading “E.P.: Day by day”

Dodebob is a 63-year-old woman from British Columbia whose brother passed away suddenly in 2017. She described struggling immensely for two years after his passing. One day she decided she needed something to keep him with her and so got the tattoo. “Now he is always in my heart, I can see him there.” SheContinue reading “Dodebob: He is always in my heart, I can see him there”

Catmom is a woman in her mid-50s from Alberta. She has always had pets throughout her life and has loved them all. However, she shares, “Every now and then you have a pet that is a part of you. A ‘heart’ pet if you will.” For Catmom this was Charlie, a “small, orange fuzzball ofContinue reading “Catmom: A “heart” pet”

BayWidow is a 34-year-old woman from the East Coast of Canada. As her chosen name mentions, she is a widow. BayWidow says that when she was 31, she “went to work that morning as a wife and mom, and came home to find out [she] wasn’t a wife anymore. [Her] daughter (3 at the time)Continue reading “BayWidow: A life lived, a life lost, and love”