Vanessa Diffenbaugh

"The story of a woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own past"--Provided by publisher.

A Novel

The Language of Flowers

لغة الزهور

Roman

Die verborgene Sprache der Blumen

Vi bad aldrig om vingar 

From the author of The Language of Flowers "a heartwarming journey that mixes redemption and optimistic insight in equal measure ... Diffenbaugh's latest confirms her gift for creating shrewd, sympathetic charmers" Kirkus "A gripping, heartfelt exploration of a mother's love, resilience and redemption" Family Circle How far would you go for your children? Would you lie for them? Flee with them? Let someone else mother them if you thought they would do a better job? As a single parent, Letty does everything for her two children - apart from raise them. Being a mother terrifies her more than she can admit, and so she's always let her mother take that role. When Maria Elena ups and leaves, however, Letty has to confront her fears and become the parent she doesn't think she can be. Even as she tries to give her children a future, Letty's teenage son, Alex, struggles to forgive his mother for choices she made in the past. But he and Letty are not so dissimilar, and both are prepared to risk everything for those they love. Honest and compelling, We Never Asked for Wings is about family; it's about the decisions we take, the mistakes we make, the people we trust and, above all, how - and where - we find love.

We Never Asked for Wings

From the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Language of Flowers comes her much-anticipated new novel about young love, hard choices, and hope against all odds. For fourteen years, Letty Espinosa has worked three jobs around San Francisco to make ends meet while her mother raised her children—Alex, fifteen, and Luna, just six—in their tiny apartment on a forgotten spit of wetlands near the bay. But now Letty’s parents are returning to Mexico, and Letty must step up and become a mother for the first time in her life. Navigating this new terrain is challenging for Letty, especially as Luna desperately misses her grandparents and Alex, who is falling in love with a classmate, is unwilling to give his mother a chance. Letty comes up with a plan to help the family escape the dangerous neighborhood and heartbreaking injustice that have marked their lives, but one wrong move could jeopardize everything she’s worked for and her family’s fragile hopes for the future. Vanessa Diffenbaugh blends gorgeous prose with compelling themes of motherhood, undocumented immigration, and the American Dream in a powerful and prescient story about family. Praise for We Never Asked for Wings “Deftly blends family conflict with reassurance: Wings is like Parenthood with class and immigration issues added for gravitas.”—People (Book of the Week) “This poignant story will stay in readers’ hearts long after the last page. . . . Diffenbaugh weaves in the plight of undocumented immigrants to her tale of first- and second-generation Americans struggling to make their way in America. Moving without being maudlin, this story avoids the stereotypes in its stark portrayal of mothers who just want the best for their children.”—RT Book Reviews (Top Pick) “Diffenbaugh is a storyteller of the highest order: her simple but poetic prose makes even this most classically American story sing with a special kind of vulnerable beauty.”—Bustle “[A] gripping, heartfelt exploration of a mother’s love, resilience and redemption.”—Family Circle “Satisfying storytelling . . . Diffenbaugh delivers a heartwarming journey that mixes redemption and optimistic insight [and] confirms her gift for creating shrewd, sympathetic charmers.”—Kirkus Reviews

Vanessa Diffenbaugh

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