Vanessa Diffenbaugh Quotes & Sayings
Enjoy the top 91 famous quotes, sayings and quotations by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.
Famous Quotes By Vanessa Diffenbaugh
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 something so beautiful and romantic be virtually unknown? — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
For eight years I dreamed of fire. Trees ignited as I passed them; oceans burned. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I did a minor in creative writing in college, but I didn't start writing until I stayed at home with my own children. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I still look up sometimes when I cross the front of the house, expecting to see her. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
This is it, you know," she said. "Your life starts here. No one to blame but yourself from here on out. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The problem is foster youth don't really have this network that other kids have. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I wasn't afraid of anything ... She marveled at the words, trying to remember what it had felt like to be that girl ... Life had changed her. She was afraid of so much now, but even as she thought it she felt something shift, the great jaws of fear loosening ad in its place was a flicker of excitement, as if she were back in high school, with all the world still hers to conquer. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Though politics is by nature divisive, surely we all can agree that foster children need stability, safety, education, opportunity - and love. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I have spent a lot of time with foster children over the years - kids for whom I have not necessarily acted as a foster parent. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I had been loyal to nothing except the language of flowers. If I started lying about it, there would be nothing in my life that was beautiful or true. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
It wasn't as if the flowers themselves held within them the ability to bring an abstract definition into physical reality. Instead, it seemed that ... expecting change, and the very belief in the possibility instigated a transformation. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Meredith Combs, the social worker responsible for selecting the stream of adoptive families that gave me back, wanted to talk to me about blame. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I've worked with homeless kids, kids in foster care, and I've never met a kid who couldn't be reached. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
As a college student, I worked as a mentor, and that got me involved in working with young people long before I became a foster parent. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
We can become anyone we want to become. It takes focusing on the aspect of ourselves we want to change and reflecting on the beliefs that cause us to act in ways that are counter to the change we seek. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I could see Grant thinking about this, trying to grasp the chasm between the finality in my voice and his vision of our future, and bridging the divide with a combination of hope and lies. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Common thistle is everywhere," she said. "Which is perhaps why human beings are so relentlessly unkind to one another. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I'm talking about the language of flowers. It's 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. Red roses mean love; yellow roses infidelity. So a man would have to choose his flowers carefully. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
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. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
My husband was working as principal of an urban transformation high school - the kind of public charter school determined to do whatever it takes to give its mostly minority, low-income student body the education they need and deserve to be successful in life. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I think that the hardest thing about working with young people in foster care who've been through this kind of neglect and abuse is really to convince them that they are worthy of being loved. And I think because often they don't feel worthy of it, that's why they push people away. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Anyone can grow into something beautiful. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
My husband and I vowed that after we married and settled down, we would become foster parents - a vow we kept and one that has enriched our lives greatly. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Some believe lily of the valley brings a return of happiness. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I traveled a full two years with 'Language of Flowers.' — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
My last book, 'The Language of Flowers,' I wrote completely on naptime, when my little kids were asleep. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Hyacinth. Please forgive me. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The open forgiveness in her eyes, the uncensored love, terrified me. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
My husband and I have been involved with foster youth since our early 20s. Right out of college and not yet married, we spent weekends mentoring a family of young girls. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I'm missing work. We didn't have enough money for preschool. I had a panic attack. I couldn't do it. I became one of those horrible foster parents who give the kids back. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
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. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
We were pressured to accept kids we were not qualified to handle. And we do that to people all the time, which is why we don't have enough foster parents. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
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, my daughter knew how to scream. She knew how to make herself heard. She knew how to reach out and latch on. She knew what she needed to do to survive. I didn't know how it was possible that such perfection could have developed within a body as flawed as my own, but when I looked into her face, I saw that it clearly was. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Hate can be passionate or disengaged; it can come from dislike but also from fear. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Mistletoe. I surmount all obstacles. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I don't think there is anything magical about the language of flowers in real life or in my book. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Coming up with the right questions was even more important than coming up with the right answers. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
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. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
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 with each other, flowers are still relevant in my opinion. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I would keep her, and raise her, and love her, even if she had to teach me how to do it. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I believe you can prove everyone wrong, too, Victoria. Your behavior is a choice; it isn't who you are. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Everyone needs something they're good at. You want your kids to be passionate and figure out something they're good at. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I wanted to write with emotional honesty and tell a story people could connect with. And I wanted people to know how the foster system in America fails children; and how, at 18, they fall through the cracks. Then we can all work together and give support. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The only problem," he added, "is that it takes over an hour to cook."
"Over an hour!" The thought of waiting made my head hurt. I hadn't eaten since breakfast, and my stomach was empty to the point of nausea. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I love Toni Morrison and Jeanette Winterson. 'The Passion' is my favourite book. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I was unaccustomed to men in general, having spent my adolescence in all-female group homes with only an occasional male therapist or teacher, and I couldn't remember having ever been in such proximity to a man who was both young and handsome. Grant was so different from everything I was used to - from the size of his hands, heavy on the table, to the low, quiet voice that echoed into the silence between us. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Still a daughter. But soon, in hours apparently, I'll be nobody's daughter.
Surface lovliness was the outward visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.
Still a daughter. But soon, in hours apparently, I'll be nobody's daughter.
Parenting-a child must grow away from the parent
you must abandon ship in order to ... what? To exist, to be a "self" Becoming a person is the point. Being a child-that's an interim position. I neglected to break away. I remained the daughter. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Writing has always been an interest of mine, and 'The Language of Flowers' combined my experience with foster care with something I've always wanted to do. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
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, not to disappoint her. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Perhaps the unattached, the unwanted, the unloved, could grow to give love as lushly as anyone else. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
You have to really prove yourself to young people, and if your answer is clear and consistent and loving - even if it's angry and disappointed - what's important is that you're being real and honest and not going anywhere. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
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 in a new parent. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I founded Camellia Network with my dear friend Isis Dallis Keigwin. The mission of our organization is to create a national network that connects every youth aging out of foster care to the critical resources, opportunities, and support they need to thrive in adulthood. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
In that moment, we were the same, each of us destroyed by our limited understanding of reality. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Purple irises from a bucket on Market Street. The — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Their lives would not turn out as they dreamed. I understood this, even as mine had turned out far better than I would have hoped, had I permitted myself to hope for anything at all. I was the exception, I knew, and even my own good fortune I believed to be a fleeting moment in what would be a long, hard, solitary life. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Over time, we would learn each other and I would learn to love her like a mother loves a daughter, imperfectly and without roots. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I am not only the person who wrote and sold a novel while raising a houseful of biological and foster children; I am also the person who wrote a horrific young adult novel that never sold and gave up on a foster child I couldn't handle - an experience that still haunts me. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
First drafts are never any good - at least, mine aren't. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
You should see the way she smiles when I rattle off the names of the orchids in the greenhouse: oncidium, dendrobium, bulbophyllum, and epidendrum, tickling her face with each blossom. I wouldn't be surprised if 'Orchidaceae' was her first word. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
You made a mistake. One fucking enormous, stupid mistake. That's all. Now get over it. Buck up and fix it, and if you can't fix it, keep going anyway. It's the only way to live. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
In the middle of the night, I was startled awake by the sharp smell of tequila. My eyes snapped open. The heath bush I'd transplanted from an alley off Divisadero stretched its needled arms over my head. Between the new growth and glowing bell-shaped blossoms, I saw the outline of a man bend over and snap a stem of my helenium. His tequila bottle leaned over as he did, alcohol splashing out of the top and landing on the shrub concealing my body. A girl behind him reached for the bottle. She sat down on the ground with her back to me and tilted her face to the sky. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
What do you love, and what do you know? And then, what are you curious about? Everyone has a unique story, unique interests-and these are what should drive your inquiries. So if you're having trouble figuring out your area of interest, spend some time thinking about what you know, and what you love, and what makes you different. The more different you are, the better. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Moss has no roots. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
We replanted. The loss was substantial, but it was overshadowed completely by losing you. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
There's a certain freedom in writing when you don't know if you'll ever have an audience. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The birds had been given everything they needed. A home in the thin, pure air: a moment of weightlessness, a reprieve from the gravity of life — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
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 flowers and their meanings - de Latour gathered references to flower symbolism throughout poetry, ancient mythology, and even medicine. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I never really considered writing something that was nonfiction. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
It is stories - both real and fictional - that can captivate hearts, change minds and, in the most powerful examples, spur action. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Here you are, obsessed with romantic language-a language invented for expression between lovers-and you use it to spread animosity. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The relentlessness with which these women tried to repair their relationships was foreign to me; I didn't understand why they didn't simply give up. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Do you really think you're the only human being alive who is unforgivably flawed? Who's been hurt almost to the point of breaking? — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
So, what's your secret?" Renata asked.
I squinted my eyes in question, tightened my shoulders.
"To staying thin?" she asked. "When you eat like that?"
It's simple, I thought. Be broke, friendless, and homeless. Spend weeks eating other people's leftovers, or nothing at all. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Our standards for motherhood are so high that many of us harbor intense, secret guilt for every harsh word we speak to our children, every negative thought that enters our minds. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The most violent and troubling stories become part of our national consciousness about foster care. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Moss grows without roots. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
We have been trained to broadcast our successes and hide our failures. But the truth is this: our failures humanise us, and they connect us to one another. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Every second I have spare, I'm with my kids. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I felt my true, unworthy self to be far away from his clutching grasp, hidden from his admiring gaze. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The names of common flowers change from decade to decade, so I spent a lot of time with old outdated dictionaries, with awful flower names like 'mouse-eared chickweed.' — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
At Camellia Network, we believe if we can create a way of identifying every young person aging out of foster care, defining what they need, and giving a community of supporters a simple and clear way to fulfill those needs, we can produce radically improved outcomes for youth. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
kissed his forehead. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I was a screenwriting and studio art major in college, so even though I don't have any training as a floral designer, I have a very particular visual aesthetic. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
There aren't always, especially in low-income communities, the arts and the dance and the drama and the things that can really show a kid, 'Look, even if I'm three years behind in math, there's something I'm good at that can help me be successful in life.' — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I'm very interested in getting inside the heads of people society discards, people on the fringe, especially immigrant kids. We dismiss them without getting into details of who they are. — Vanessa Diffenbaugh
As she looked me up and down, I felt like a daughter returning from summer camp to a mother who had worried unnecessarily. Except instead of summer camp it had been my entire adolescence, emancipation, homelessness, and single parenthood, and I couldn't rightly say that Elizabeth's worry had been unwarranted — Vanessa Diffenbaugh