The Healing Power of Ink

I found the strength to face family judgment on the other side of a tattoo gun

Photo: Roberto Peri/Cultura/Getty Images

“You’re going to feel a bit of a sting.”

I turned away as the tattoo artist leaned in, the needle humming like a dentist’s drill across my skin. It was my first tattoo, a declaration of freedom from my conservative family. They would disapprove of the permanent…