Today in heartwarming stories: An Albuquerque tattoo-removal specialist named Dawn Maestas does complimentary work on women who have been inked with momentos from abusive relationships. She tells NPR’s StoryCorps that she recently removed tattoos from a woman whose abuser forcibly branded his own name all over her body. A survivor of domestic violence herself, Maestas says she’s just trying to help fellow victims get back on their feet:
Every time that you had to get dressed and undressed, you would have to look at that tattoo and know where it came from … When [her most recent client] walked in my office, it was déjà vu. I knew the loneliness, the embarrassment, and I was so angry that life had done to [her] what it had done to me … It’s not just a tattoo. It’s … like being in a car accident — every time you pass that intersection you remember the impact.
Pay it forward and happy Friday, all.
