Vanessa Diffenbaugh grew up in Chico, attended Chico High School, and then won a scholarship to study art at Stanford University. Her debut novel, The Language of Flowers, was on the New York Times bestseller list for 69 weeks. It was translated into over 40 languages, and there are nearly one million copies in print. It sparked interest in the foster care system.
For her second novel Vanessa researched science, climate, immigration law and bartending. We Never Asked for Wings is the story of a young woman trying to restore broken family bonds.