American Mother: A Life Reclaimed

AN IMMEDIATE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER * Featured on MSNBC's Morning Joe

With National Book Award-winning author Colum McCann, Diane Foley courageously returns to the story of her son, American journalist James Foley, who went abroad and never came home.

In late 2021, Diane Foley sat at a table across from Alexanda Kotey, a member of the ISIS group known as "the Beatles," who pled guilty to the kidnapping, torture, and murder of her son James Foley seven years before. She asked the legendary writer Colum McCann to be there.

"One of the best books I've read in many, many years, if not my life." -Anderson Cooper

"A work of great faith and redemption. Here is a woman making the whole world accessible to us all." -Jamie Lee Curtis

"A spectacular tale of violence and forgiveness." -Salman Rushdie

"Foley's urge to understand the psychology of one of her son's captors made her a perfect match for McCann." -The New York Times

"A book that will shake your soul out." -Sting

"A call to decency in a war-torn world." -Deborah Jackson Taffa

Author: Colum McCann, Diane Foley
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 02/11/2025
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.54lbs
Size: 8.14h x 5.61w x 0.67d
ISBN13: 9781639735679
ISBN10: 1639735674
BISAC Categories:
- Biography & Autobiography | Editors, Journalists, Publishers
- True Crime | Murder | General
- Political Science | Genocide & War Crimes

About the Author

Colum McCann is the internationally bestselling author of ten works of fiction and one nonfiction book. He is the recipient of many honors, including the National Book Award, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, a Guggenheim fellowship, and the Pushcart Prize. He lives with his family in New York City.

Diane Foley is the mother of American freelance conflict journalist James Wright Foley. She founded the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation to advocate for freedom for innocent Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad and for journalist safety. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband, Dr. John W. Foley.