Quotes by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

“There was only one way to the other side, and that was through the pain.”

“This time, there was no escape, I could not turn away, could not leave without accepting what I had done. There was only one way to the other side, and that was through the pain.”

“The open forgiveness in her eyes, the uncensored love, terrified me.”

“Nothing you could do would make me send you away. Nothing.”

“Hyacinth. Please forgive me.”

“Im talking about the language of flowers. Its from the Victorian era, like your name. If a man gave a young lady a bouquet of flowers, she would race home and try to decode it like a secret message...”

“Anyone can grow into something beautiful.”

“I believe you can prove everyone wrong, too, Victoria. Your behavior is a choice; it isn't who you are.”

“She was perfect. I knew this the moment she emerged from my body, white and wet and wailing. Beyond the requisite ten fingers and ten toes, the beating heart, the lungs inhaling and exhaling oxygen...”

“Her eyes were open, taking in my tired face... Her face twitched into what looked like a squinty smile, and in her wordless expression I saw gratitude, and relief, and trust. I wanted, desperately,...”

“Over time, we would learn each other, and I would learn to love her like a mother loves a daughter, imperfectly and without roots.”

“I would keep her, and raise her, and love her, even if she had to teach me how to do it.”

“For eight years I dreamed of fire. Trees ignited as I passed them; oceansburned. The sugary smoke settled in my hair as I slept, the scent like a cloud left on my pillow as I rose. Even so, the mom...”

“Now, as an adult, my hopes for the future were simple: I wanted to be alone, and to be surrounded by flowers. It seemed, finally, that I might get exactly what I wanted.”

“We are more and more into technology. Everything is texting, and everything is instant. Flowers are completely impractical as a method of communication when you could just send a text.”

“We all make mistakes, and we all need second chances. For youth in foster care, these mistakes are often purposeful - if not consciously so; a way to test the strength of a bond and establish trust...”

“Though politics is by nature divisive, surely we all can agree that foster children need stability, safety, education, opportunity - and love.”

“There's still something so pure and heartfelt and emotional and genuine about a bouquet of flowers that, even with all the advances of technology and the millions of ways we have to communicate wit...”

“I've always loved the language of flowers. I discovered Kate Greenaway's 'Language of Flowers' in a used bookstore when I was 16 and couldn't believe it was such a well-kept secret. How could somet...”

“The Victorian language of flowers began with the publication of 'Le Language des Fleurs,' written by Charlotte de Latour and printed in Paris in 1819. To create the book - which was a list of flowe...”