American Mother: A Life Reclaimed by Colum McCann and Diane Foley

Bloomsbury

Review by Brian Tanguay

James Foley was the first American citizen executed by ISIS. He was decapitated in Northern Syria in August 2014. The act was filmed. The perpetrators wore masks. Foley’s severed head was placed upon his back. His mother saw this gruesome, barbaric image. His family and friends saw it. Millions saw it. 

Syria marked the second time James Foley had been kidnapped while working as a journalist. He was held in Libya for some forty days in 2011. That he chose to put himself in jeopardy again speaks volumes about his character, his commitment to his profession, and his physical and moral courage. He believed so strongly in what he was doing that he was willing to run the inherent risks. In his upbringing and education James Foley was as all-American as they come, but in his fundamental outlook and understanding of the world, he was unusually thoughtful, free of American hubris, cant, and certainty. 

A collaboration of the Irish novelist Colum McCann and Diane Foley, mother of James, American Mother is an extraordinary story of loss, faith, and grace. Diane Foley lost her son but refused to lose his life. In the aftermath of her son’s murder, Diane found herself in circumstances that an average woman could never prepare for. She might have retreated into her own private suffering, but instead became a fierce advocate, a critic of US hostage policy, and an organizer. She had the fortitude to sit across from a man who played a role in her son’s murder; with forbearance born of faith, she afforded him the grace he denied her child.  

Reporting from conflict zones has always been dangerous, particularly for freelancers who lack the institutional protections offered by CNN, BBC, Reuters or the New York Times. But even with the resources of a network or newspaper, the protection is meager. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that as of January 2025, 166 journalists and media staff have died while working in Gaza. Journalists are frequently targeted for kidnapping. Some governments will negotiate for the release of their nationals, even pay ransoms, usually through back channels or third parties, but the United States, as Diane Foley and her family discovered, as a matter of policy, does not.  

In fact, the Foley family was told repeatedly that they might face prosecution for raising ransom money or attempting to negotiate Jim’s release on their own. Official indifference was such a constant source of frustration and heartache that changing US policy became Diane’s mission and that of the Foley Foundation. As I read her account I wondered if the families of the six American citizens kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023 have experienced similar treatment. Have they been assured, as were the Foley’s, that their government was doing everything in its power to secure the release of their loved ones, when in fact very little was being done? 

While dealing with the most painful loss a parent can experience, the loss of a child, Diane Foley also confronted uncomfortable truths about her country and how politics and war act as incubators of lies and deceit. “I felt a sense of shame run through me,” she confesses after a number of disappointing encounters with government officials. “Shame for my beloved country. Sometimes I just had to acknowledge the bland indifference that was apparent here, the inability to remember, the miniscule attention span, the disregard of history, the craven nod towards celebrity, not to mention the arrogance that we display to others around the world and our willful failure to understand foreign conflicts.”

Fortunately for Diane, her experience with some government officials stood in stark contrast to the outpouring of support from people her son had touched, his friends, colleagues, and complete strangers, who offered money, time, and their presence. The Foley Foundation continues its work because the need remains. Many American citizens are still being held against their will. Five years is the average, a lifetime for families and loved ones. 

Diane Foley and her son shared many of the same traits: faith, idealism, moral courage, and hope. Mother and son embody an uncommon brand of heroism, one that is quiet, thoughtful, indefatigable, and built on a foundation of love.