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… — Vanessa Diffenbaugh Copy Share Image
“Here you are, obsessed with romantic language-a language invented for expression between lovers-and you use it to spread animosity.” — Vanessa Diffenbaugh Copy Share Image
“I pinched tendrils of periwinkle at the roots until they hung in long, limp strands, and grabbed a dozen bright white spider mums. I… — Vanessa Diffenbaugh Copy Share Image
“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… — Vanessa Diffenbaugh Copy Share Image
“I studied the way the individual flowers clustered around the single stalk, their sharp points fitting together like pieces of a puzzle. Something about… — Vanessa Diffenbaugh Copy Share Image
“I had been loyal to nothing except the language of flowers. If I started lying about it, there would be nothing in my life… — Vanessa Diffenbaugh Copy Share Image
“some believe lily of the valley brings a return of happiness.” — Vanessa Diffenbaugh Copy Share Image
“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 Copy Share Image
“Have you ever given anyone a red rose?" Grant asked. I looked at him as if he was trying to force-feed me foxglove. "Moss… — Vanessa Diffenbaugh Copy Share Image
“Elizabeth went from stand to stand as if I wasn't there, exchanging cash for heavy bags of produce: pink-and-white-striped beans, tan-colored pumpkins with long… — Vanessa Diffenbaugh Copy Share Image
She was perfect. I knew this the moment she emerged from my body, white and wet and wailing. Beyond the requisite ten fingers and… — Vanessa Diffenbaugh Copy Share Image
“What're you reading?" "Gertrude Stein." I shook my head. I'd never heard of her. "The poet?" he asked. "You know, 'A rose is a… — Vanessa Diffenbaugh Copy Share Image
“While I worked, I thought about Earl's wife, tried to bring forth an image of the once-passionate woman: her tired, withdrawn, unsuspecting face. Would… — Vanessa Diffenbaugh Copy Share Image
“When my hunger grew to the point of distraction, I climbed onto buses and rode to the Marina, Fillmore Street, or Pacific Heights. I… — Vanessa Diffenbaugh Copy Share Image
