Watch authors Colum McCann & Diane Foley's book talk and reading at Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C.

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In late 2021, Diane Foley sat at a table across from her son's killer, Alexanda Kotey, a member of the ISIS group known as "The Beatles" who plead guilty to the kidnapping, torture, and murder of her son seven years before. Kotey was about to go serve life imprisonment and this was Diane's chance to talk to the man who had been involved with brutally taking her son's last breath. What would she say to his killer? What would he reveal to her? Might she even be able to summon forgiveness for him?

So begins American Mother-- which reads alternately like a thriller, a biography, a mystery, a memoir, and a literary examination of grace.

Diane looks back on the early days when Jim was a child and his journey to journalism, and the killing fields of the world where he reports with indefatigable determination and insight on the plight of those caught up in the agonies of war. She guides us through her family history and the difficulties they faced when Jim was captured. And she also charts the tenacity it takes to turn her grief into grace as she seeks to give voice to those who are still being kidnapped and wrongfully detained around the world.

Few journeys are more worthy than this and, in this astonishing book, we are all invited to celebrate the lives of those who are never, in the end, gone.

Colum McCann is the author of seven novels, three collections of stories, and two works of non-fiction. Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, he has been the recipient of many international honors, including the U.S National Book Award, the International Dublin Literary Prize, a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres from the French government, election to the Irish Arts Academy, several European awards, the 2010 Best Foreign Novel Award in China, and an Oscar nomination. In 2017, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts. His work has been published in over 40 languages. He is the President and co-founder of the non-profit global story exchange organization Narrative 4. He is the Thomas Hunter Writer in Residence at Hunter College in New York, where he lives with his wife, Allison, and their family. His most recent novel, Apeirogon, became an immediate New York Times best-seller and won several major international awards.

Diane Foley founded the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation to advocate for freedom for innocent Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad and for journalist safety. Foley has raised awareness about international hostage-taking through her government advocacy, the documentary Jim: the James Foley Story, and opinion pieces in The New York Times, The Washington Post and USA Today. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband, Dr. John W. Foley, and is the mother of four other children and seven grandchildren.

McCann and Foley will be in conversation with Margaret (Peggy) Collins, the Washington Bureau Chief and executive editor of U.S. economy and government coverage for Bloomberg News. Previously, she oversaw the U.S. economy team through the pandemic and was team leader of investing coverage in the U.S. Prior to those roles, Collins was a reporter covering topics such as retirement savings, tax policy, wealth management and family offices. She’s been with the company since 2009. Before joining Bloomberg, Collins was a multimedia editor for MSN and a reporter for the Bergen Record newspaper in New Jersey. Collins holds a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s from the College of the Holy Cross.

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Founded by Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade in 1984, Politics and Prose Bookstore is Washington, D.C.'s premier independent bookstore and cultural hub, a gathering place for people interested in reading and discussing books. Politics and Prose offers superior service, unusual book choices, and a haven for book lovers in the store and online.