Author Archives: storiesfromtheskin

When I was married, my wedding ring was a Claddagh ring; the Claddagh is a symbol of two hands holding a heart topped by a crown. Our table numbers also had a Claddagh on the side. The Claddagh symbolizes love, friendship, and loyalty, and Claddagh rings are traditionally used to pledge faith. For marriage, theContinue reading “Anon: Peace in the midst of chaos”

Lucas passed away on May 31, 2021. Lucas struggled with mental illness and fought for years to get help in a broken system. He began experimenting and mixing drugs and alcohol to numb the pain, Luke suffered strokes to both sides of his brain. Luke was on life support for a week so that hisContinue reading “Lukesmomforever18: Luke’s Legacy”

Hannah has a tattoo in memory of her late grandfather on the left side of her stomach. Hannah explains that her grandfather was an airline captain, so the tattoo was designed with “four stripes [to] represent the stripes he wore on his epaulets. The flowers are sweet peas, which was the term of endearment heContinue reading “Hannah: Always be a part of me”

Giggly bits has a tattoo of deer antlers located on her left arm. The deer antlers symbolize a sign of growth. Within the last 7 years she has had horrific experiences of loss and illness, but also of triumph. She explains: “Deer shed their antlers periodically, and this is a reminder that every time youContinue reading “Giggly bits: Growth”

C has a tattoo on her forearm in memory of her mother. The design of the tattoo features forget-me-not and lily-of-the-valley flowers alongside “Maman” in cursive writing. C explains that her “mother’s favourite and birth month flower was the lily-of-the-valley. I decided to add forget-me-nots and the word ‘Maman’ as a way to say, ‘IContinue reading “C: Maman, “I feel like it was meant to be””

On November 28, 2015, Butterfly’s 34-year-old daughter was murdered. Butterfly and her other daughters had her name tattooed on their wrists so that they could always keep her close to them. The name is written in her own handwriting, which the tattoo artist lifted from a card she had previously signed. The wrist was chosenContinue reading “Butterfly: A sense of peace while dealing with our loss”

Beautifully Broken is a 41-year-old woman who experienced years of abuse from her mother and her mother’s many boyfriends. She prided herself on not being affected by it. She attended college, became a nurse, and got married. When the youngest of her four children got sick and was wishing to die, Beautifully Broken shares “…myContinue reading “Beautifully Broken: Weathered from the battle but still strong and still able to fly”

Amira’s tattoo features two feathers crossed over one another, as a reminder that things can be hard but still beautiful. Amira explains that this tattoo reminds her that “real joy comes from acknowledging the duality within all of us.” The idea for the tattoo occurred during a time in her life where she was givenContinue reading “Amira: To grow in a healing way”

AB33 has a tattoo of a mountain range where she spent a lot of time as a child. Some of AB33’s fondest memories of her family include going to find peace in the mountains. When her parents decided to end their marriage, AB33 and her two siblings all got tattoos of the mountain range, whichContinue reading “AB33: The three sisters”