Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy by Jamie Raskin

 

Amy  

nonfiction, politics

Jamie Raskin suffered the loss of his only son, Tommy, by suicide on December 31, 2020 and then faced unimaginable danger by being in the Capitol on January 6, 2021 during the certification of the Presidential election results when the insurrection took place. Not only was he in danger, but one of his daughters and his son-in-law were also in the Capitol to support Raskin, who had insisted he do his job so soon after the trauma of losing his beloved son. Unthinkable is not only a tribute to his beautiful child but a detailed account of his preparation for and experience during the day of the insurrection as well as his management of the second Donald Trump impeachment trial in the Senate.

I really don’t like politics but have been forced to pay more attention the last five years due to the negative climate in the US. As someone who was so impressed by Raskin’s brave handling of a personal trauma and his ability to carry on his professional role with such grace so shortly after losing his son, I was compelled to read his book about this period in his life. I already respected him from watching him speak in news interviews and seeing him in his role as a member of the House. I thought I might get to know him better by reading Unthinkable.  My expectation was met. Raskin was a former college law professor and is a constitutional law expert. Therefore, his ability to create a clear narrative, along with evidence where needed, was evident. His feelings were open and raw at times, understandably.

Stories of Tommy were woven throughout the narrative about Raskin’s desire to save our democracy. Some sections were more Tommy-centric and some were more politics-centric but I was impressed by how much the father was influenced by the son in his approaches to meeting daily work and life challenges and decisions. Tommy may have been a young man (he died at age 25), but he was extremely intelligent, caring, and thoughtful. He made an impression on people and always strove to improve life for others. Raskin used to discuss case studies with his children along with telling them bedtime stories, and his kids were raised to be fair-minded, intelligent critical thinkers. Raskin often consulted Tommy on legal issues to get his impressions and views because he was a great thinker and often saw things from a different perspective than Raskin.

Reliving many of the traumas to our nation leading up to the January 6th insurrection, like George Floyd’s murder, the Black Lives Matter movement, and COVID-19 pandemic, helped to set the stage for the feelings within the country. These things were also described as Tommy interpreted them and how they affected his mental well-being. Tommy had suffered from depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. He was being treated but, sometimes, situations were worsened by outside and internal forces. Stories about Tommy’s childhood, education, passions, experiences, and discussions with Raskin were set within historical context and Raskin’s own work life.

I was shocked to learn that many members of Congress didn’t know there were gas masks under the seats in the Capitol, let alone how to use them, and that the Senators and Representatives had to keep being moved around the Capitol on January 6th since no one seemed to know where it was safe to hide from the mob. This shows that Congress needs crisis drills. In my opinion, if Kindergartners must have active shooter drills, it seems logical that our governmental employees should also have drills.

Raskin also laid out his disappointment as he came to the realization that many GOP representatives were losing all interest in real public policy and, instead, doing whatever Trump willed them to do. He pointed out many of Trump’s pernicious maneuvers during his presidency and was self-critical for not seeing the signs that Trump and his sycophants would wreak such havoc on this nation nor the signs that Tommy was planning suicide .

I also learned that Raskin is a cancer survivor, that his father worked in Presidential administrations, and that a big part of the reason he went into constitutional law, especially when it comes to powers of the President, was because his own father had been targeted by President Nixon and threatened with jailtime when Raskin was young. I enjoyed Raskin's portrayal of other current politicians and learning a little of their personal side. I was particularly struck by the compassion of Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House. Raskin claims that she threw him a lifeline by making him the manager of the second impeachment trial.  

Regarding the reason for impeachment, Raskin stated “Trump… brought 62 absurd lawsuits completely devoid of all legal or factual merit in federal and state courts across the land…up to the Supreme Court of the US. All of them failed miserably save one tiny partial victory in PA that had nothing to do with fraud.” The only examples found of people voting illegally were Trump supporters. Raskin also stated how these lawsuits had been the legal and correct way to challenge the election results. But after not liking the outcomes, Trump moved to illegal activities of trying to overturn election results.

He goes into detail about his desire to impeach Trump even earlier than the first impeachment trial based on Trump’s emoluments violations alone. I was so glad to know that someone was as upset about that as I was. I kept wondering why no one was forcing Trump to quit enriching himself. But Raskin's fellow Representatives never bought into it, thinking they had bigger fish to fry. I applaud Raskin, once again, and only wish he’d had the chance to hold Trump accountable. I hold even greater respect for Raskin than I did before.

On the down side, the information was sometimes repetitive and there were a couple times that got too deep into constitutional law. But it was overall understandable and educational. Plus, I was glad to know there are people like Raskin who are excited and knowledgeable about this stuff and can be counted on when needed.

I listened to the audiobook and Raskin, himself, narrated it. That was terrific! He’s an excellent speaker with all those years of teaching, and the amount of love he had for his son was obvious. He usually held it together but sometimes sounded, understandably, upset. I’m amazed there were very few sad-sounding sections. Raskin’s passion in his own work was also evident in his tone. He was authentic and interesting. I give him an A. 

Below, I’ve listed a few great quotes from the novel (which I translated from audio, so please forgive any punctuation and capitalization errors):

“…the threat that Alexander Hamilton warned us of in Federalist No. 1: the threat of an opportunistic demagogue unleashing a violent mob and primitive impulses against the Constitution to override the political and constitutional infrastructure of representative democracy. The demagogue panders to the negative emotions of the crowd, pretending to be the champion of the people, only to wage war against the Constitution, the legal order, and the democratic process, all of which belong to the people."

“The [impeachment] managers understood that ‘Can’t we all just move on?’ was the go-to mantra of abusers and bullies who got caught.”

“Too many radicals love humanity in the abstract but don’t like people concretely, while too many conservatives like the people in their group but don’t care about anybody else and can’t stand humanity generally. We could take the best from both the radicals and conservatives and show love for everybody or we could take the worst from both and just hate everyone. And that’s Donald Trump for you.” – Tommy Raskin

 

Guilded (Guilded #1) by Marissa Meyer

 

Amy   

young adult, fantasy

This is a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, one of the Grimm's Fairy Tales. Serilda is a young woman living with her father, the miller. She is always spinning stories. Due to these fantasies, as well as her odd eyes which were marked with a gold spinning wheel by a god upon her birth, the adults in town don’t trust her. The children, however, adore her stories. Eventually, one of her lies gets her into trouble. Serilda catches the attention of the evil Erlking by saying she can spin straw into gold and he brings her to his castle to see if she really can do as she claims.

I have really enjoyed Marissa Meyer’s retellings in the past.  However, this one got off to a slow start and then ended too soon. It was set in the distant past instead of in the future (like her other retellings) and, therefore, didn’t feel like something new at first. It felt like a genuine old fairy tale—and not a particularly interesting one in the first half. Meyer often pulled us out of the main storyline by inserting the tales Serilda was telling. I know this is my problem, but I have trouble staying interested when authors insert tangential stories into a novel. It always feels like a detour, a distraction, a time waster, and it ruins the momentum of the novel for me. If I wanted to enjoy multiple short stories, I’d read a book of short stories. In a novel, I want everything to tie back to the central tale(s). As it turns out, Serilda’s stories served a purpose but they had still soured my opinion due to their length and number, and the narration (see below) did not help matters.  Plus, many segments of Serilda’s internal discourse were slow and repetitive.  I kept thinking, “Get on with it! I get it! Move on!”

Also, much of the story was really horrific but is told in the tone and pace of a children’s tale. Yes, fairy tales tend to be horrific and are aimed at children but they are short in length. This one had trouble combining the children’s focus with the newer, more interesting story Meyer was trying to build into a full-length novel. I admired her creativity yet kept feeling it drag and stutter. The novel seemed to push and pull at itself, fixating on trivial things and then speeding through more interesting things.

I’m really sad that I haven’t loved the last two novels by Meyer that I’ve read.  I adored all of her earlier novels so much! This one ended just when things were getting interesting (yet unfinished because there is a sequel coming) but I doubt I’ll read the next installment unless it gets amazing reviews. This one tried my patience too much.

I do feel that the audiobook narration added to my frustration with this novel. This is the fourth novel I’ve heard that was narrated by Rebecca Soler. I really enjoyed her in two of them and really didn’t in this one and one other.  She read Gilded in a really overdramatic way. And in those sections where we were listening to Serilda tell someone a story, I was rolling my eyes. It was as if she were one of those over-the-top storytellers, like a traveling magician trying to make everything seem so important and wondrous to little children. She did display a nice repertoire of voices but I didn’t like the way this one was acted.  I, therefore, have to give her a C+. I feel the audio narration was a detriment to my enjoyment of this novel. I think I would have liked it more without her hokey delivery (and probably would’ve skimmed through most of Serilda’s tales).

Thick: And Other Essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom

Lynnie

non-fiction, memoir, essays

Wow- talk about a powerhouse! It's clear from the beginning of Thick that Tressie McMillan Cottom has some things to say, and oh how she says them. Cottom is smart, witty, and knows her own voice and most importantly is unafraid to speak her truth in these pages as she shares her reality of living as a black woman in America today. Whether talking about standards of beauty, class mobility, ethnic diversity within the black community, and much more, Cottom's essays are a mixture of academic education and memoir; through her view as a black woman and a sociologist, she paints a very vivid picture.

In all honesty, it's the academia that kept me from giving this book five stars- I will follow a footnote down a rabbit hole and I found that whenever I did that I was taken out of the story Cottom was trying to tell. I would have rather just heard her voice without the supporting documentation (though I'm sure those who are using her work for academic purposes are very thankful for each and every reference!). Still, this is a book filled with important truths and I hope more people will take the time to read them. I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

 

 

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

 

Amy   

mystery

Jules and Will are getting married on a remote Irish island. Their family and friends are in attendance. Then, on the day of the wedding, someone is murdered.

Since The Guest List was voted the Best Mystery/Thriller of 2020 by Goodreads Choice Awards, I had been expecting something that would pull me in from the beginning. This turned out to be an unfulfilled expectation. Rather, the beginning was an introduction to all the important characters on the island. As the novel progressed, we got to know the characters better. While “a lot of blood” was briefly mentioned early in the story, this novel lacked a compelling overarching mystery for most of it. Yes, I knew someone is supposedly murdered, but I didn’t really know enough to care who it would be or who might have done it.

Told from multiple characters’ points of view, the perspective changes helped to keep things from being boring. The characters all seemed to either have a secret or be attached to someone with a secret from their past. The more I read, I changed my opinion to reflect that everyone had either hurt or been hurt by someone else. These mini-mysteries were intriguing enough to keep me going. 

However, when author Lucy Foley provided all the answers at the end, they were dissatisfying. I can’t really explain what I mean without giving things away. But after all the buildup and interwoven tragedies, it ended with a final tragedy leaving me feeling sad.  I can see why reviews are mixed. 

The audiobook was narrated by six different people—one for each perspective. I did not bother looking up which narrators went with which characters but they were Jot Davies, Chloe Massey, Olivia Dowd, Aoife McMahan, Sarah Ovens, and Rich Keeble. (Side note: It’s interesting that two of them shared names with characters and I wonder whether they read the parts of the characters with their names.) All of them were excellent voice actors and I credit them with most of the enjoyment I got out of this one. I’m sure I would’ve been less satisfied reading it by myself. Even though I’m not a fan of large casts for audiobooks, this production was nicely done. I’ll give this ensemble an A.

Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn

Lynnie

contemporary fiction, romance

Meg is locally famous for hand-lettering wedding invitations, planners, and journals for NYC's elite while Reid is a math prodigy who has found success, and a fiance, on Wall Street.  When they meet while Meg is designing Reid's wedding program, no one can predict how their future paths will intersect. 

I don't usually read romance-y novels, but Love Lettering was a sweet story. I am a sucker for talk of fonts and lettering, which was my main attraction to this story. I was not disappointed on that front, once again thinking about a career I had never considered in my youth- lettering other people's planners (though I have many questions about the logistics of that which, if I talk about them, will ruin any idea that this could be remotely realistic as a career so I won't bother you about it because it is fiction after all). Kate Clayborn's characters and story were quirky if not downright awkward & while I often found it endearing I also found myself suppressing giant eye rolls at other times because...awkward!

Still, I enjoyed it much more than I didn't and, these days, I have to take those wins where I get them! This was a fun escape from these dreary winter days and would make a great vacation read as well.

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

Amy  

mystery

Mariana, a group therapist, has recently lost her beloved husband. She’s, tragically, already lost her parents and sister. Her niece and only surviving relative, Zoe, calls in distress and is concerned that Zoe's friend, who is missing, is the woman that has just been found violently murdered. Mariana thinks she can help discover the identity of the murderer.

The Maidens of the title were a college study group of young women. Zoe's friend had been a member.  This mystery, which included references to art and mythology, was engaging and I liked the main character. In fact, I enjoyed the story right up until the end. I found the resolution to be extremely unlikely.  

Of course, I can’t say more about it (sorry for my brevity) or I’ll ruin the mystery for those who might enjoy it. But I understand why this novel has so many mixed reviews. I did not think it was as good as Alex Michaelides' The Silent Patient.

The audiobook was read by Louise Brealey as the main narrator and Kabna Holdbrook-Smith reading the parts that are from the murderer’s point of view.  I thought Brealey did a terrific job with several different voices and accents and wonderful voice acting. I give her an A+ because there isn’t any reason to knock anything off. Holdbrook-Smith’s voice acting was fine but he only had one person to “play” and it wasn’t a difficult role in terms of acting. So, I’ll give him an A to acknowledge that he did what was required of this minimal role.