American Mother \;is the stor
y of a mother who\, in the course of confronting her son&rsquo\;s killer\,
gets to the elemental heart of violence and forgiveness. Diane Foley is t
he mother of Jim\, a freelance journalist captured and beheaded by ISIS in
2014\, an image that became one of the most iconic of the 21st century. S
even years later\, Diane gets the chance to spend three days with the murd
erer of her son in a Virginia courthouse\, inspiring her to tell her life
story. What unfolds is one of the most compelling narratives in recent lit
erary history\, channeled into searing reality by \;New York Times
\;bestselling author Colum McCa
nn\, who brings us on a journey of strength\, resilience\, and radical
empathy. You are sure to be moved by McCann's writing and Foley&rsquo\;s
uncompromising love\, register now! \;
About
the Authors: \;
Colu
m McCann \;is the author of seven novels\, three collections of st
ories 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 Chevali
er 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 America
n 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 Re
sidence in Hunter College\, in New York\, where he lives with his wife All
ison and their family. \; His most recent novel\, \;Apeirogon
\, became an immediate New York Times best-seller and won several majo
r international awards. \; His first major non-fiction book\, \;Am
erican Mother\, will be published in March 2024.
Diane
M. Foley \;is the mother of five children\, including American freela
nce conflict journalist James W. Foley. She founded the James W. Foley Leg
acy Foundation in September 2014\, less than a month after his public exec
ution. Diane is currently serving as the President and Executive Director
of JWFLF. Since 2014\, she has led JWFLF efforts to fund the start of Host
age US and the International Alliance for a Culture of Safety\, ACOS. In 2
015\, she actively participated in the National Counterterrorism Center ho
stage review which culminated in the Presidential Policy Directive-30. Thi
s directive re-organized US efforts on behalf of Americans taken hostage a
broad into an interagency Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell\, Special President
ial Envoy for Hostage Affairs and a White Hostage Response Group. Previous
ly\, Diane worked first as a community health nurse and then as a family n
urse practitioner for 18 years. She received both her undergraduate and ma
ster&rsquo\;s degrees from the University of New Hampshire in Durham\, NH.
\;
Please Register for link to program.
Live Virtual Author
Talks \;- \;This new series through Library Speakers
Consortium offers live online talks by bestselling authors of books in a
variety of genres. Participants receive a link to the program when they re
gister. Please see https://libra
ryc.org/gailborden \;to register and also view recorded videos of
past speakers.