People handle grief differently.
According to a professor with Renison College, it is transforming from getting over someone to embracing their memory.
“Now, grief is about forming a different kind of relationship with the person who’s died, it’s not about ending the relationship,” said Susan Cadell, a professor of social work.
Cadell was organizing a support group through Bereaved Families of Ontario when she noticed the memorial tattoo trend.
She began creating an online platform as a result, an interactive website that will bring bereaved families together and will allow the discussion of memorial tattoos.
More than 30 people have been interviewed for the project.
Christian and Lynne Jordan were two of the participants.
They lost their two-year-old daughter to leukemia 10 years ago.
“We struggled a lot and looked for different ways to cope and to sort of better understand what was happening,” said Christian Jordan.
Lynne Jordan got a tattoo of cherry blossoms on her shoulder to represent her daughter.
“Cherry blossoms are only blooming for a very short amount of time but when they do, they’re vibrant and they’re beautiful, and that was my daughter,” she said.
Both parents have had several tattoos done in memory of their daughter.
