Vanessa Diffenbaugh

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. The Victorian ... (more)language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating grief, mistrust, and solitude. 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. 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. Soon a local florist discovers her talents, and Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. 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.

Reservations required, and can be made at the Redondo Beach store. Cost of event: $72. Includes lunch, signed first edition and contribution to Youth Radio.

Thurber House will feature Vanessa Diffenbaugh, author of The Language of Flowers, with a reading beginning at 7:30 p.m., followed by a Q&A session with the audience, reception and book signing. A highly anticipated debut novel about a young woman whose troubled past enables her to best communicate ... (more)through the beautiful language of flowers, using them to change the lives of others as she struggles to overcome her own pain. Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for students and seniors, and available online at www.thurberhouse.org or by calling 614-464-1032.

Vanessa Diffenbaugh’s memorable and unusual debut novel The Language of Flowers tells the story of a young woman who uses the Victorian language of flowers to communicate with others and make sense of her troubled past. Elizabeth Lewis (Rainy Day Books) says, “ The Language of Flowers is unlike anything ... (more)I’ve read—and I love it for that fact. You know those people who say there are only so many original story lines and everything since then is just a re-telling? They should read this book.” You’ll never look at flowers—or the world around you—in the same way again. Vanessa Diffenbaugh was born in San Francisco and raised in Chico, CA. After studying creative writing and education at Stanford, she went on to teach art and writing to youth in low-income communities. She and her husband, PK, have three children: Tre’von, 18, Chela, 4, and Miles, 3. She and her family currently live in Cambridge, MA, where her husband is studying urban school reform at Harvard.