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Finishing Thanksgiving dinner, Alana Dakin watched her boyfriend show off his new tattoo: the word “nobody” written in Greek down his forearm. Less than a week later, Ms. Dakin looked for photos of the same tattoo. Her boyfriend was missing, and the police needed pictures of anything that would help identify him.

On this week’s Modern Love podcast, the actress Zosia Mamet reads Ms. Dakin’s poignant essay, “A Tattoo for the Living.” Note: This episode discusses suicide and may be upsetting for some listeners.