Slice & Burn

"A decade ago, in Boston for her 35th birthday, she paid a call on a body-modification artist. Ms. Hamilton wanted what's known as a 'slash and burn.' She selected a spot on her right arm to be ritualistically cut, dabbed with alcohol and set aflame. 'It's sort of like a tattoo except 5,000 times more painful,' she said. 'And when they cut you, my God, they cut you.'"