diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f413599..22ddefc 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,13 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [Unreleased]
+
+## [2.0.1] - 2024-07-16
+
+### Changed
+- Fixed the return type of `validate`
+
 ## [2.0.0] - 2024-06-20
 
 ### Added
@@ -50,6 +57,8 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - Added base source code files for the project.
 - Base `README.md` file.
 
-[unreleased]: https://github.com/Naapperas/zon/compare/v1.1.0...HEAD
-[1.1.0]: https://github.com/Naapperas/zon/compare/v1.1.0...v1.1.0
+[unreleased]: https://github.com/Naapperas/zon/compare/v2.0.1...HEAD
+[2.0.1]: https://github.com/Naapperas/zon/compare/v2.0.0...v2.0.1
+[2.0.0]: https://github.com/Naapperas/zon/compare/v1.1.0...v2.0.0
+[1.1.0]: https://github.com/Naapperas/zon/compare/v1.0.0...v1.1.0
 [1.0.0]: https://github.com/Naapperas/zon/releases/tag/v1.0.0
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/zon/__init__.py b/zon/__init__.py
index 3a6eb58..4d346c3 100644
--- a/zon/__init__.py
+++ b/zon/__init__.py
@@ -162,12 +162,12 @@ def _clone(self) -> Self:
         return copy.deepcopy(self)
 
     @abstractmethod
-    def _default_validate(self, data: T, ctx: ValidationContext):
+    def _default_validate(self, data: T, ctx: ValidationContext) -> T:
         """Default validation for any Zon validator
 
-        The contract for this method is the same for any other `ValidationRule`:
-        - If the validation succeeds, return True
-        - If the validation false, raise a ZonError containing the relevant data.
+        The contract for this method is the same for any other `ValidationRule`: If the validation fails, mark the context as dirty.
+
+        In any case, this method should return the original data
 
         The default implementation raises a NotImplementedError.
 
@@ -181,14 +181,15 @@ def _default_validate(self, data: T, ctx: ValidationContext):
         )
 
     @final
-    def _validate(self, data: T) -> bool:
+    def _validate(self, data: T) -> tuple[Literal[True], T] | tuple[Literal[False], ZonError]:
         """Validates the supplied data.
 
         Args:
             data (Any): the piece of data to be validated.
 
         Returns:
-            bool: True if the data is valid. This method will never return false as that case raises an error, as documented.
+            (bool, T) | (bool, ZonError): A tuple containing a boolean indicating whether the data is valid,
+            and either the validated data or a ZonError object.
 
         Raises:
             ZonError: if validation against the supplied data fails.
@@ -213,12 +214,15 @@ def _validate(self, data: T) -> bool:
         return (not ctx.dirty, cloned_data if not ctx.dirty else ctx.error)
 
     @final
-    def validate(self, data: T) -> bool:
+    def validate(self, data: T) -> T:
         """Validates the supplied data.
 
         Args:
             data (Any): the piece of data to be validated.
 
+        Returns:
+            T: the validated data.
+
         Raises:
             NotImplementedError: the default implementation of this method
             is not implemented on base Zon class.
@@ -243,6 +247,10 @@ def safe_validate(
         Args:
             data (Any): the piece of data to be validated.
 
+        Returns:
+            (bool, T) | (bool, ZonError): A tuple containing a boolean indicating whether the data is valid,
+            and either the validated data or a ZonError object.
+
         Raises:
             NotImplementedError: the default implementation of this method
             is not implemented on base Zon class.
@@ -1294,7 +1302,7 @@ def shape(self) -> Mapping[str, Zon]:
     def keyof(self) -> ZonEnum:
         """Returns a validator for the keys of an object"""
 
-        return enum(self._shape.keys())
+        return enum(self.shape.keys())
 
     def extend(self, extra_properties: Mapping[str, Zon]) -> Self:
         """