Marsha Danielle West

What inspired your most recent tattoo?

We got married on Dio de los Muertos after I beat cancer. Our families disowned us. Then, my husband’s job burnt down. A month later, he lost his next job, was hospitalized, and had a mental breakdown so severe, we almost divorced. I prayed to Santa Muerte to save our marriage, and over night, she did. I got this tattoo to thank our Bony Lady, and on my leg to remind me that death walks side by side with life; She is with us wherever we go.

If your ink could speak, what would it say?

That the highest beauty comes from pain, that every choice is a leap of faith, and that every end is a new beginning. My ink would say that if you have the strength to voluntarily and patiently suffer, then you have what it takes to change your life.

What would you do with the $25,000?

During the pandemic, I was on the front lines as a Respiratory Therapist. The stress of the job and my failing first marriage resulted in an eating disorder, and I weighed over 300 lbs. Life got better after the divorce, and I lost half my body weight without surgery or medication and have kept it off for 3 years. I would get the excess skin from that weight loss surgically removed, and I would cover the scars with beautiful ink to celebrate how far I’ve come.