“I would keep her, and raise her, and love her, even if she had to teach me how to do it.” — Vanessa Diffenbaugh Copy Share Image
“I still look up sometimes when I cross the front of the house, expecting to see her.” — Vanessa Diffenbaugh Copy Share Image
“We replanted. The loss was substantial, but it was overshadowed completely by losing you.” — Vanessa Diffenbaugh Copy Share Image
“Meredith Combs, the social worker responsible for selecting the stream of adoptive families that gave me back, wanted to talk to me… — Vanessa Diffenbaugh Copy Share Image
“As she looked me up and down, I felt like a daughter returning from summer camp to a mother who had worried… — 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
