Invisible Storm

Jason Kander struggled with PTSD while navigating his rise in politics.

Jason Kander held a solid lead in the 2018 race for mayor of Kansas City when he walked into a Veterans Affairs medical center and requested help. Asked if he had suicidal thoughts, Kander said yes. Once he was admitted to the psychiatric treatment ward, Kander confessed to more than a decade of crippling PTSD symptoms and announced he would drop out of the mayoral race the next day.

Kander gathered strength from his family and his wife, Diana, whom he’d married in their second year at the prestigious Georgetown Law School. He and Diana bonded over their mutual determination to serve society and make positive changes in the world. She supported him throughout his time in Afghanistan, grueling political campaigns, and recovery from PTSD.

Few people of Kander’s socioeconomic status joined the military.

Harboring a “vague notion” that military service would benefit his résumé, Kander signed up for the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) in 2002 and joined the Maryland National Guard. He embraced a challenging course load in law school...