Tattoos label us, mark us for life, tell stories of our past and sometimes of our future, they show the world who we are or maybe who they believe we are, yet we all have a unique story that goes deeper than the ink on our skin, the clothes that we wear or the place that we live. Beneath the glamor is our fragile humanness, the need to belong, be understood, and in our darkest moments we are united in our desire to find comfort and love.
Tattoos: A Novel is not a story about cancer, it is a story about finding hope and meaning in the devastation that can become your life in the blink of an eye. We have seen it happen to the people we love and many have lived it themselves, life shifting rapidly like ice breaking beneath our feet plunging you into the depths. This is a story and a testament to all those who have survived the unsurvivable, lived the unliveable, pushed through just one more day; this is everyones story, this is about living life...

Seventeen-year-old Marilee Mackie has everything going for her, beauty, money and a bright future. But when she’s diagnosed with cancer her world falls apart. Instead of finishing her senior year she begins the fight of her life.

Nineteen-year-old Jax, an enigmatic hospital orderly, lives on the Strip, the proverbial other side of the tracks. With his sleeves of tattoos and rocker look, he’s the kind of bad boy that Marilee has always steered clear of.

But when Marilee’s illness strips her bare, she searches for meaning in her life. Seeing that Marilee has lost hope, Jax steps in and helps her find purpose, a reason to live another day.

From devastation the Peace Project is born.

With Marilee’s money and Jax’s knowledge of the Strip, the teenagers embark on an unforgettable journey. Where Marilee learns that happiness is a choice, small acts of kindness can change lives forever, that a little good goes a long way, and that love can grow even in the darkest places of you life. But especially that rainbows can follow storms.