Wednesday, January 23, 2013

The Language of Flowers

Wow.  I just finished The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.  Again, wow.  This is a a GREAT book.

Victoria has been in the foster system from birth.  She is nine-years-old and has lived in 32 homes, at least that she can remember, and now she was being given one last chance.  (Go ahead and read that again.  The social worker told a nine-year-old girl she had one last chance to belong to someone. If it didn't work out she'd be put in a group home until she was 18.) Victoria has learned to not expect anything good to happen, and when she arrives at Elizabeth's vineyard she does her best to protect her wounded heart. For how can she love others when she has never learned to love herself?  But Elizabeth slowly chips away at Victoria's defenses, and the little girl dares to hope that this placement might be different.  In her time with Elizabeth, Victoria learns many new things, but it is Elizabeth's love of flowers and the messages they send that literally save Victoria's life and teach her that she is worthy of someone's love.

Not only is The Language of Flowers a fantastic book, but it also covers a subject that is close to my heart.  I have had the privilege of working with a wonderful group of women who support San Pasqual Academy here in San Diego County.  It is a boarding school for foster teens, and it is the first of its kind in the country.  Like Victoria, a foster child moves an average of 10 times before the teen years, fostering a feeling of impermanence and instability.  San Pasqual Academy changes all of that.  The school takes children from a broken system and gives them a new start.  Please check out their website at www.sanpasqualacademy.org, and watch the video below.  It is truly an amazing place!




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