book the language of flowers by vanessa diffenbaugh

I feel it's only fair to warn you, dear reader, that Vanessa Diffenbaugh's central character, Victoria Jones, is going to break your heart three ways from Sunday. A graduate of the MFA program at The University of Michigan, she has taught literature and creative writing for many years, and currently lives with her children in Cleveland, Ohio. She grew up in Fresno, California where, after being abandoned by both parents, she spent fourteen years in the foster care system. Paula McLain is the New York Times best-selling author of The Paris Wife. But a mysterious vendor at the flower market has her questioning what’s been missing in her life, and when she’s forced to confront a painful secret from her past, she must decide whether it’s worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness.Īmazon Exclusive: Paula McLain Reviews The Language of Flowers

Soon a local florist discovers her talents, and Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. Now eighteen and emancipated from the system, Victoria has nowhere to go and sleeps in a public park, where she plants a small garden of her own. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating grief, mistrust, and solitude. The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. A mesmerizing, moving, and elegantly written debut novel, The Language of Flowers beautifully weaves past and present, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past.

Book the language of flowers by vanessa diffenbaugh