(Image via Getty)
We have some tragic news to report out of the Harvard Law School community, where a promising young law student passed away just before the new year.
Thomas “Tommy” Bloom Raskin, 25, was a second-year student at the elite law school, and his father, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), an alumnus of the school, announced his son’s death on New Year’s Eve. On Monday, Rep. Raskin and his wife, Sarah, published an obituary on Medium, confirming that their son had died by suicide.
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In the obituary, the Raskins describe Tommy as “a radiant light in this broken world,” and detail his life as one that was dedicated to service. He had “a perfect heart, a perfect soul, a riotously outrageous and relentless sense of humor, and a dazzling radiant mind,” his parents wrote. Unfortunately, he was also plagued by depression. Here’s an excerpt from the obituary:
He began to be tortured later in his 20s by a blindingly painful and merciless ‘disease called depression,’ as [his sister] Tabitha put it on Facebook over the weekend, a kind of relentless torture in the brain for him, and despite very fine doctors and a loving family and friendship network of hundreds who adored him beyond words and whom he adored too, the pain became overwhelming and unyielding and unbearable at last for our dear boy, this young man of surpassing promise to our broken world. …
He left us this farewell note on New Year’s Eve day: ‘Please forgive me. My illness won today. Please look after each other, the animals, and the global poor for me. All my love, Tommy.’
The Raskin family held a private funeral service this morning, and virtual public memorial services will follow later this month. The family has launched the Tommy Raskin Memorial Fund for People and Animals, which will award money to charities Tommy supported during his life, including Oxfam, Give Directly, the Helen Keller Institute, and Animal Outlook.
We here at Above the Law would like to extend our condolences to Tommy Raskin’s family, friends, and colleagues during this extremely difficult time.
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Most law schools have counseling and psychological services resources that students and graduates can turn to if they are in crisis or would like counseling, even after hours. If these services are not available at your school, and if you or someone you know is depressed and in need help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) or a lawyer assistance program in your state (don’t be fooled by the name; these programs also provide services to law students). Remember that you are loved, so please reach out if you need assistance, before it’s too late.
Statement of Congressman Jamie Raskin and Sarah Bloom Raskin on the Remarkable Life of Tommy Raskin [Medium]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.