Nearly a decade after journalist James Foley was murdered by Islamic State group militants, his mother, Diane Foley, tells their story in a new book.
James, who grew up in Wolfeboro, was covering the Syrian Civil War when he was captured and eventually killed.
In the memoir “American Mother,” Diane works with Irish author Colum McCann to chronicle the aftermath of James’ kidnapping, including her ongoing advocacy for the return of Americans held hostage abroad. She also recounts meeting with one of the men convicted in her son’s murder.
Diane Foley joined NHPR’s Julia Furukawa on All Things Considered to talk about what she’s learned from working on the book, and what she wants readers to take away.
Transcript
Can you tell me about the process of putting this book together? What did you learn as you were working on it?
What did I learn? Oh so much. I've learned so much over the ten years because my background was as a family nurse practitioner. I never knew anything about politics, or our hostage policy or the risks journalists take when they're freelancers in conflict zones. I've learned so, so much, and I learned a lot about our judicial system and how hard it was to actually arrest and then extradite the two former British jihadis to the United States for trial. And then I had the opportunity to meet one of them, Alexanda Kotey, and learned a lot about his reasons for all that he did that is putting him in prison for life. But in spite of all the horrific human rights, atrocities, he's a human being who also has lost in the process of hate, of ISIS. So I've learned so much, Julia.
And, Diane, for context for our listeners, Alexanda Kotey pled guilty for his role in the death of Jim and three other Americans in 2021. Some may have made a different decision than you and may not have wanted to speak with him. How did you come to that decision to talk to him? What was your thought process like?
To be honest, Julia, it was not a hard decision because Alexanda was quite different than his colleague who went to full trial that required nearly a month in April of 2022. Alexanda Kotey pleaded guilty to all eight counts within a few months of his move to Virginia, and in addition, he offered to meet with victims. So I could feel an openness in him. Jim wanted us to be able to understand those who are vulnerable to propaganda, like ISIS among young people like Alexanda Kotey. So I knew Jim would have gone to see him, that Jim would have wanted me to hear him out. And also as a mom, I wanted to share with him who Jim was, you know, so I just wanted to try to bridge that gap.
What do you hope readers gain from reading this book and learning about your story?
Well, a number of things, Julia. I hope to raise awareness about two areas that I was totally ignorant about. One of them is about the fact that Americans are, in fact, targeted when they travel internationally. And I think Americans need to be acutely aware of that and very leery of going to countries who are kidnapping our citizens or wrongfully arresting them. But also, I wanted to make people aware of the risks that journalists take, particularly investigative journalists or conflict journalists, to bring us the news about what's happening in the world and hopefully to inspire others to just use their gifts to make a difference for good. You know that all things are possible with good people working together. And in my case, you know, my faith in God has made a huge difference in my life and given me a lot of strength. So I wanted to thank God for sending so many good people my way and for helping me to make a bit of difference for others. Since 2014, more than 100 innocent U.S. nationals have come home, and that gives me great joy. It really does. That's Jim's legacy, if you will, Julia.
