The problem is foster youth don’t really have this network that other kids have. Vanessa Diffenbaugh Read Quote
Everyone needs something they’re good at. You want your kids to be passionate and figure out something they’re good at. Vanessa Diffenbaugh Read Quote
There aren’t always, especially in low-income communities, the arts and the dance and the drama and the things that can really show a kid, ‘Look, even if I’m three years behind in math, there’s something I’m good at that can help me be successful in life.’ Vanessa Diffenbaugh Read Quote
We all make mistakes, and we all need second chances. For youth in foster care, these mistakes are often purposeful – if not consciously so; a way to test the strength of a bond and establish trust in a new parent. Vanessa Diffenbaugh Read Quote
Our standards for motherhood are so high that many of us harbor intense, secret guilt for every harsh word we speak to our children, every negative thought that enters our minds. Vanessa Diffenbaugh Read Quote
There’s a certain freedom in writing when you don’t know if you’ll ever have an audience. Vanessa Diffenbaugh Read Quote
The most violent and troubling stories become part of our national consciousness about foster care. Vanessa Diffenbaugh Read Quote
I’m missing work. We didn’t have enough money for preschool. I had a panic attack. I couldn’t do it. I became one of those horrible foster parents who give the kids back. Vanessa Diffenbaugh Read Quote
Writing has always been an interest of mine, and ‘The Language of Flowers’ combined my experience with foster care with something I’ve always wanted to do. Vanessa Diffenbaugh Read Quote
