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American Mother

By: Colum McCann, Diane Foley
Narrated by: Colum McCann, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kristen Rock
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Publisher's Summary

Bloomsbury presents American Mother by Colum McCann with Diane Foley, read by Colum McCann, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kristen Rock.

An extraordinary story of grace, forgiveness and moral courage' Patrick Radden Keefe
A 2024 HIGHLIGHT IN THE OBSERVER, GUARDIAN AND IRISH TIMES
AN IMMEDIATE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

The English language has no specific word for the parent that has lost a child. There exist words for orphan, widow and widower, but there is no word that captures and conveys this tragic type of loss.

It has been eleven years since Diane Foley’s son, the American journalist James Foley, was kidnapped in northern Syria, and nearly ten since that day in August 2014 when she would learn that he had been murdered by ISIS in a public beheading that would ricochet in video around the world. A whole decade. Time rushes past. And yet, for Diane, that moment is unending.

In American Mother, legendary author Colum McCann tells Diane’s story as she recalls the months of his captivity, the efforts made to bring him home and the days following his death, in which Diane came face to face with one of the men responsible for her son’s kidnapping and torture. A testament to the power of radical empathy and moral courage, American Mother takes us inside one woman’s extraordinary journey to find connection in a world torn asunder, and to fight for others as a way to keep her son’s memory alive.

©2024 Colum McCann and Diane Foley (P)2024 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

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Important story

An important true story that should t be forgotten.
I did find Jamie L-C’s narration difficult to stick with, but nonetheless that shouldn’t deter others.

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Interesting story but not what I expected

An interesting story. I admire Jim’s family’s work and am sorry for the intense fear and anxiety I only imagined they experienced. Whilst I find this an important brick in the path that paves the journey to pressuring governments to recognise the important plight of hostages internationally, I found this book to be written with a martyrdom tone which found difficult to connect with at times. I would have also appreciated more insight into the 40hours spent with the perpetrators.

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