It's Bad Luck to Die by Elizabeth McCracken

I'm a huge sucker for hopelessly romantic stories, and this one struck my heart. As I turned to the last page of this short story, tears streamed down my face. It seems dramatic, but true. I'm that girl: the one that cries when books are over, when they score the winning touchdown or when she finds love despite her evil stepmother. It's Bad Luck to Die is a story about a girl, Lois, who at eighteen meets her future husband, Tiny (49) at his tattoo parlor. Readers see Lois' personal growth through her marriage to Tiny. She begins the story as "blank." Throughout their married life, Tiny tattoos hundreds of works of art over Lois' body. At the end of the book Lois realizes that not only Tiny, but the tattoos help her to be a complete person, they tell the story of who she is and she is proud to wear them (which is despite her mother's protests). Sadly, (here's the tear jerker part), Tiny dies at the end and Lois is left to survive and exist without her love. Although she is stared at for being the "tattoo lady" she describes her body as "a love letter," which always reminds her of Tiny and the journey he brought her on. 

After reading the first story in this collection, I'm excited to read the rest. I loved McCraken's use of extended metaphor: the tattoos, to represent love and growth of the main character. She describes tattoos as "something that can't be stolen, pawned, lost, forgotten or outgrown." I think this statement is describing her love for Tiny; although they were an odd couple, it didn't matter because they were meant for each other. Secondly, I think it is a metaphor for Lois' personal growth. At the start of the story she is awkward, uncomfortably tall and unsure of what she wants. After she marries Tiny and gets her first tattoo she begins to feel like she is gaining a sense of self. She uses her body as a form of self expression, it becomes a drawing board for her thoughts, wishes, dreams... The tattoos give her an identity, they are completely unique to her.