These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901

“Belongs on your must-read list. This novel is a gem.” —Omaha
World-Herald

Nancy E. Turner's unforgettable These Is My Words melds the sweeping adventures and dramatic landscapes of Lonesome Dove with the heartfelt emotional saga of Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All.

A moving, exciting, and heartfelt American saga inspired by
the author's own family memoirs, these words belong to Sarah Prine, a woman of
spirit and fire who forges a full and remarkable existence in a harsh,
unfamiliar frontier. Scrupulously recording her steps down the path Providence
has set her upon—from child to determined young adult to loving mother—she
shares the turbulent events, both joyous and tragic, that molded her, and
recalls the enduring love with cavalry officer Captain Jack Elliot that gave
her strength and purpose.

Rich in authentic everyday details and alive with truly
unforgettable characters, These Is My Words brilliantly brings
a vanished world to breathtaking life again.

| In a compelling fiction debut, Nancy E. Turner's unforgettable These Is My Words melds the sweeping adventures and dramatic landscapes of Lonesome Dove with the heartfelt emotional saga of Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All.

Inspired by the author's original family memoirs, this absorbing story introduces us to the questing, indomitable Sarah Prine, one of the most memorable women ever to survive and prevail in the Arizona Territory of the late 1800s. As a child, a fiery young woman, and finally a caring mother, Sarah forges a life as full and as fascinating as our deepest needs, our most secret hopes and our grandest dreams. She rides Indian-style and shoots with deadly aim, greedily devours a treasure trove of leatherbound books, downs fire, flood, Comanche raids and other mortal perils with the unique courage that forged the character of the American West.

Rich in authentic details of daily life and etched with striking character portraits of very different pioneer families, this action-packed novel is also the story of a powerful, enduring love between Sarah and the dashing cavalry officer Captain Jack Elliot. Neither the vast distances traveled nor the harsh and killing terrains could quench the passion between them, and the loss and loneliness both suffer only strengthen their need for each other.

While their love grows, the heartbreak and wonder of the frontier experience unfold in scene after scene: a wagon-train Sunday spent roasting quail on spits as Indians close in to attack; Sarah's silent encounter with an Indian brave, in which he shows her his way of respect; a dreadful discovery by a stream that changes Sarah forever; the hazards of a visit to Phoenix, a town as hot as the devil's frying pan; Sarah's joy in building a real home, sketching out rooms and wraparound porches.

Sarah's incredible story leads us into a vanished world that comes vividly to life again, while her struggles with work and home, love and responsibility resonate with those every woman faces today. These Is My Words is a passionate celebration of a remarkable life, exhilarating and gripping from the first page to the last. |

“Incredibly vivid and real and almost as though everything had been found, complete in a box somewhere.” - Washington Post

“A vivid picture of one woman’s true grit on the frontier.” - Dallas Morning News

“A compelling portrait of an enduring love, the rough old West and a memorable pioneer.” - Publishers Weekly

“These Is My Words is an entertaining...at times harrowing...reading experience.” - Fort Worth Star-Telegram