Emily Tomasetti

Emily Kathleen Tomasetti
Jamie Quinn

May 28, 1994 – May 20, 2022

Writer. Poet. Advocate. Mother.

Resources

If you’re here because you need help — start here. Emily believed everyone deserves a safe place to be themselves. If you’re struggling with identity, mental health, or substance use, you don’t have to face it alone. These resources might help you or someone you love.

Crisis & Mental Health

LGBTQIA+ Support

Substance Use & Harm Reduction

Disclaimer: This site does not provide emergency services. If you are in crisis, call 988, The Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386, or your local emergency number.

Why EmmySpeaks

EmmySpeaks is not only a memorial. It is an attempt to reach someone while there is still time.

Emily Kathleen Tomasetti — Jamie Quinn to those who knew her chosen name — died of a fentanyl overdose at twenty-seven. She was brilliant, funny, loyal, and fierce about justice. None of that disappeared when she died. What did disappear was the chance for more conversations, more poems, more ordinary days with her daughter Nova.

If you are LGBTQIA+ and struggling — with who you are, with depression, with using alone, with feeling like no one sees you — you are not alone. Emily would have wanted you to find support. That is why the resources here matter as much as the remembrance.

Remembering Emily

Emily Kathleen Leebens Tomasetti was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on May 28, 1994. As a child, she was shy — often reluctant to speak — but when she did, she showed insight and emotional depth beyond her years. She had a lifelong love of animals and a goofy, sarcastic sense of humor that defined her.

Emily grew up in Sarasota, Florida, where she attended school and participated in music and dance. She loved books and was a gifted writer and poet. Fiercely loyal to her family and friends, she was an unflinching supporter of social justice causes.

In 2014, Emily moved to Longmont, Colorado with her father and her best friend, TJ Tomasetti. She loved the mountains and explored them often with TJ. They married in 2018 and were blessed with a daughter, Nova Grace Tomasetti, whom Emily adored. Towards the end of her life, Emily wished to be known as Jamie Quinn.

Spoken Word

I wish I could give you respect,
but I won’t give away what’s mine.
No I don’t regret
because I only want to do this one time.
how am I supposed to be different
when you want me to live my life all the same?
its completely insane.
not every key fits every lock,
and not every direction suits every brain.
I don’t care the agenda
or what it is to gain.
I’m different, so I’ll do it different than you.
only god can judge me,
so whats left to do?
I lift the drama up over my head,
let it tumble and let it fall,
until this beef is dead.
escaping dread.
that monster has been fed.
I will take the obstacle and use it
because when I see an opportunity
I don’t abuse it,
every second is a gift,
so why throw it away?
It’s like you won’t do right,
if it doesn’t pay.
life is your game,
but we aren’t the same.
I’m getting tired,
because your routine is lame.
I set my target and I’m ready to aim,
I won’t be taking the bullshit
or any of the blame.
if I could speak what I want to say,
it might just take you by surprise,
and blow you away.
I’m loosing patience by the day.
because you think being selfish
is okay.
you’re dripping with regret,
and melting in shame.
you’re struggling to breathe
without gaining the fame.
i listen to the words fall weak,
left with no meaning.
love fallen bleak.
Life is about living to the fullest.
the only thing your living
is in the bullshit.
how did the focus get so lost?
sold your happiness
at a low cost.
let it go.
it’s your only chance,
you will fade away,
if you stay in that trance.
I’m praying,
that people start changing.
life has some color,
and can be amazing.
the struggle falling and raining.
I’m still here,
just waiting.

— EKL

In Her Memory

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Emily’s name to an LGBTQIA+, mental health, or addiction organization of the donor’s choice.

We think of you with every butterfly.