03/09/2026
By loving, we consent to grief—to breaking open in ways that expand our very sense of being.
Last year, my aunt Sara and I collaborated in the most meaningful photography project I’ve ever been a part of. In September 2024, Sara’s life partner Brian (my uncle) passed away in a bus accident in Oaxaca, Mexico. 5 months later, Sara came to stay with me and my husband in Texas.
Sara and I collected photographs of Brian, searching the dry, winter prairie for the most gnarled of cottonwood trees to hang them on. There, we crafted a scene on the branches, ruminating on memory, loss, love, scars, and all that we carry. Sara did not hold back.
The images we created are now featured in “Resilient A.F. Skin Deep Stories,” a book from The Global Resilience Project exploring stories of resilience through the lens of tattoos.
In response to the scars the bus accident and Brian’s subsequent loss left on her, Sara wrote, “Letting go of perfection in favor of my complex reality, I can welcome my scars. They are not imperfections to cover up. They dance with and cut through the waves, intersecting, and somehow offer me a glimmer of potential, of imperfect beauty and humanity.
Brian left his mark on my life. I get to keep the better person that I became with him. Our love will always reverberate through me. I imagine the loss will too. And that sets the stage for whatever comes next.”