Community Read Author Vanessa Diffenbaugh to Give Presentations

Vanessa Diffenbaugh, author of “The Language of Flowers,” will give two presentations, one at 2 p.m. and one at 7 p.m. Friday, March 15, at The University of Findlay. The 2 p.m. presentation will be in Old Main, Ritz Auditorium, and the 7 p.m. presentation will be in Winebrenner Theological Seminary Convocation Center.
There is no cost to attend the 2 p.m. presentation. Tickets for the 7 p.m. presentation are $5 and are available at the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library.
Diffenbaugh is the city of Findlay’s Community Read author this year. While on campus, she will discuss the process of writing her book and why she chose to address the content in the book.
“The Language of Flowers” is about character Victoria Jones, who spent her childhood in the foster care system. She exits the system at the age of 18 with nowhere to go, sleeping in a public park where she plants a small garden. Victoria remains connected to the world through flowers and their meanings. She is discovered by a local florist, and Victoria discovers her gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. She falls for a mysterious vendor at a flower market and realizes what’s been missing in her own life. Victoria is forced to confront a painful secret from her past and decide whether it’s worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness.
Diffenbaugh was born in San Francisco and raised in Chico, Calif. After studying creative writing and education at Stanford University, Diffenbaugh taught art and writing to youth in low-income communities. To write “The Language of Flowers,” Diffenbaugh found inspiration in her own experience as a foster mother. She and her husband, PK, have three children and live in Cambridge, Mass., where her husband is studying urban school reform at Harvard. “The Language of Flowers” is her first novel.
These events are coordinated in conjunction with the Community Read committee and the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library as part of the Community Read schedule of events. For more information, contact Sarah Clevidence at clevidsa@findlaylibrary.org or Marianna Hofer at hofer@findlay.edu.