{"product_id":"book-h188","title":"The Things I Came Here With","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Does it hurt?” When you’re a tattoo artist, that’s the most universal question. For Chris MacDonald, the answer is simple: “Hurts less than a broken heart.” Those words are painted above the entrance to his shop, Under My Thumb Tattoos, as a reminder.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChris and his brothers were as wild as the wind, in their house among the fields of Alliston, Ontario, when their parents divorced. Shell-shocked, they were uprooted and brought to Toronto by their dad. Their mother’s mental illness worsened in the aftermath, and she disappeared.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs a teenager, Chris left home and found himself immersed in the city’s underbelly, a world where drugs, skateboarding, and punk rock reigned. Between the youth shelters, suicidal thoughts, and haunted apartments, a light shined: and it was art.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe eventually found himself following the path of his brother, Rob, and pursuing life as a tattooist. Then, at the height of a destructive summer, everything changed: he met Megan, the girl who would become his rock of ages.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis remarkable memoir examines what tattooing means to MacDonald and traces the connection his artistic motives have to both his family and childhood. \u003cem\u003eThe Things I Came Here With\u003c\/em\u003e is about how crucial our past is to understanding our future, but it’s also a love letter to his daughter about the importance of expression, life’s uncertainty, and beauty.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ECW Press Ltd.","offers":[{"title":"Audiobook","offer_id":49357130924336,"sku":"BDh188","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2784\/9264\/files\/361001-h188-Square.jpg?v=1734421820","url":"https:\/\/downpour.com\/products\/book-h188","provider":"Downpour","version":"1.0","type":"link"}