In 2014, freelance journalist James “Jim” W. Foley was captured in Syria and publicly beheaded by ISIS after being held hostage for nearly two years.
Jim’s mother, Diane Foley, has made it her life’s mission to share her son’s story and continue his legacy of moral courage.
Brought to life by award-winning writer Colum McCann, the book “American Mother” follows Diane as she processes the heartbreak and reality of losing her child.
For the first time, the public gets exclusive access to what comes after, when Diane has the opportunity to meet with one of her son’s murderers in a Virginia courthouse seven years later.
“American Mother” not only details the life of Jim and the Foley family, but it is a story of hostage policy and journalistic experience.
With Americans currently held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, the book offers a relevant and haunting perspective of what conditions might look like for the captives and their families.
Diane is the president and founder of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation. Created less than a month after Jim’s death, the foundation provides financial and logistical aid for families and recoveries of wrongfully detained American citizens.
The website also features the James W. Foley Journalist Safety Guide, which holds curricula to better prepare future journalists for their profession and keep them out of danger.
Diane has decided to donate all her book sale proceeds towards the foundation’s cause.
