Tommy Raskin (25-year-old son Congressman Jamie Raskin), committed suicide on the final day of 2020. A mob of Trump-inspired rebels stormed the Capitol days later as Joe Biden won the electoral election.
Raskin was on the scene to witness both, and the two events were inextricably connected for him and his family. He reflects upon these experiences in his book, Unthinkable. Trauma, Truth and Trials of American Democracy.
What happened?
Table of Contents
The country came together in grief after Tommy Raskin, Jamie’s son, committed suicide on New Years Eve. However, it was only the beginning of what would be an incredibly difficult and confusing year for him.
In his new memoir, Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy, Raskin lays out how he went from finding his son dead at home to leading the House managers of the second impeachment trial against President Trump. He explains how those two events changed his life forever.
During the impeachment trial, which took place in the months after Tommy’s death, Raskin suffered a second trauma.
A mob of Trump supporters attacked the US Capitol Building on January 6, the same day he had announced the suicide of his son, in an attempt to stop certification and kill some legislators.
Depression
Jamie Raskin is a Democratic Congressman from Maryland who gained national attention when he was named to the second impeachment case against President Donald Trump. His appointment came shortly after he lost his only son to suicide.
In a heartbreaking essay, Mr Raskin opened up about his son’s death and the depression that he was suffering at the time of his death.
He and his wife Sarah Bloom Raskin shared details of their son’s life that made us all feel like we knew Tommy, despite the fact that he died by suicide.
The family decided to share their son’s story to help chip away at the stigma around mental illness and suicide.
Kate Farinholt, executive director of the National Alliance for Mental Illness in Maryland, said it was a powerful move.
It will also serve as a reminder that depression can happen to anyone at any age and it’s never too late to seek help.
Suicide
Jamie Raskin’s son committed suicide New Year’s Eve. This was the wake up call that led to him reorienting his life to moral values.
In a deeply personal book, Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy, he writes about putting those values into practice.
Tommy claims that he instilled these ideals in his life and they have helped him get through the January 6th insurrection at Capitol.
He also says that Tommy has been able to carry them with him into his new role of lead manager for the second impeachment case against President Donald Trump.
It was during that period that he found himself on a path that will probably take him far from the world he knew, but he can still see Tommy’s spirit at work in his everyday life.
He has learned to treat others with the respect and dignity that Tommy would have given them.
Trauma
Jamie Raskin was the first person to be appointed as the leader of the impeachment trials against Donald Trump. The appointment came shortly after his son Tommy took his own life.
A Democrat from Maryland, Raskin is a constitutional scholar and a deeply loving father. He also serves as a congressman and is an outspoken critic of President Trump.
But on January 6, 2021, he faced an experience that would shake his world to its foundations. He was vulnerable to being thrown out of his home and family by the violent rebellion that erupted at the Capitol.
This was an event that changed Raskin’s outlook on life. He explains in his book, Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth and the Trials of American Democracy, how this event shaped his life and led to his advocacy for democracy.
Read More:
