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

By Nancy Turner

“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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 13, 2009
• ISBN: 9780061863554

Nancy Turner

Nancy E. Turner is the author of several works of fiction, including The Water and the Blood and Sarah's Quilt. She has been a seam snipper in a clothing factory, a church piano player, a paleontologist's aide, and an executive secretary. She lives in Tucson, Arizona, with her husband and two children.

Reviews for These Is My Words

[angelab86 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An account of a woman's journey through the Arizona territories. Hands down one of my favorite books, ever.

[jellyish · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very creative.

[olivermagnus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was inspired by some of the author's family memoirs and features Sarah Prine, a woman who lived in the Arizona Territory in the late 1800s. Sarah begins recording her life from the time she was a young girl in 1881 until about 1901. She and her family are heading west from Texas when tragedy strikes. There is death, and Indian attacks, and Sarah is forced to save some young girls from rape. She is also shown respect as a warrior when a young Indian pays tribute to her in a way that is most familiar to him. When she finds an abandoned wagon filled with books, we see just how much she wants to learn to read and the price she's going to pay to take those books with her to Arizona.

This is not a book filled with fun and excitement. It's a look at the day to day struggle that pioneer families had to go through to find a place they could call home. There's quite a bit of tragedy and your heartstrings will be pulled numerous times during the book. Sarah finds marriage and happiness, but not necessarily at the same time.

I've owned this book for quite a while and despite the great reviews I just never picked it up. It starts off a bit slow but by the time I was a quarter of the way through, I just couldn't put it down. If you enjoy American historical fiction set in the west, I definitely recommend this book.

[eadieb-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I listened to the audio of this book. It is a family's memoir of Sarah Prine, a woman who survived and prevailed in the Arizona Territory in the late 1800's. The reader was very good and captured the emotions of Sarah and the strength and physical endurance she needed to survive the hardships she faced. I enjoyed the relationship between Sarah and Jack Elliot, who she truly loved. The author did an incredible amount of research and it truly is a beautiful story that will stay with you a long time. I would highly recommend this book to those who like stories about the western frontier.

[rascalstar · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is so much better than it sounds like it should be. I put aside other things to sit and read, and it's rare a book makes me do that. As the long-form title indicates, it's the story of a woman and her life from girlhood to what seems like middle age, but the book only covers 20 years and Sarah was still a young woman when the story ended. Based on real historical letters, the book is written in diary entries with a conversational bent. To the author, well done!

[emmee1000 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is without a doubt one of the best books I've read in a long time! I don't very often do books more than once, but I know I am going to read this one again. Thanks, Laura and Tim.

[fefferbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

OK, so I started reading this book because my mom had recommended it, and we alwaysalways agree on books. The first couple of chapters were a struggle for me--a bit dry and somewhat "pioneer-y." But I stuck with it, since Mom was so sure I'd like it.

WHEW! I think I finished the whole thing in two days. Once the story got rolling, man, it was fascinating! And the quaint but distracting-for-a-grammar-nazi spelling improves after just a few chapters. Which was great, but even if it hadn't, I wouldn't have put this down.

At heart, this is a romance. And a strong one. The main characters are complex, well-rounded, and only vulnerable in the best places. I've started the sequel, Sarah's Quilt, immediately.

[kc9333 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved this book --- fasinating tale told in diary form. The story of a young girl becoming a women and building a life in the Arizona territory . Gripping tale of struggle, love and loss in the southwest during the 1900s- recommended!

[boundtogetherforgood · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am no longer a big fan of fiction but this book read as if it could have been real. I really enjoyed reading about the lead characters' life out west.

[ashleyludwig · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This one really struck me. Being a lover of both historical fiction, and geneaology - it reads like you are reading your great grandmother's diary. You feel her grow from a young girl wondering what crimson velvet is - to an adult woman who has struggled to make her home in the Arizona territory. Against flood, fate, and all of the day to day drama that go with it - by the end of the story I had laughed out loud with Sarah Agnes Prine - and wept right along with her until I was wracked with sobs. Nancy Turner is a brilliant author with a keen eye and a lithe hand. I have Sarah's quilt sitting on my night table - next in line.

[selimacat · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this book for a book club that may or may not happen and didn't know what to expect. It's a first-person narrative, written in diary form--the story of a young girl in the 1860's wild west. I liked the female narrator (though she's predictably plucky), but it was a bit bloodthirsty for my taste--I wasn't expecting main characters to die off so quickly, and so often. There was a sweet love story and a cast of appealing characters--if you like Oprah books, this is a good choice for you.

[sherryauthor · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A wonderful story about a girl who finds her way and becomes a woman.

[angelag86 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An account of a woman's journey through the Arizona territories. Hands down one of my favorite books, ever.

[jguidry-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a wonderful story about life in the post-Civil War Arizona territory. The book is written in diary format which was sometimes choppy, but the storyline was worth following. The best part about the story was the audiobook narrator. Valerie Leonard captured Sara Pryne's innocence and emotions perfectly. She turned a four star story into a five star audiobook.

[orangegrove95 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of those books that sucks you in. Sort of a Rhett and Scarlett type feel only in a prairie setting. Thanks sibling for the loan.

[lisamaria_c · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is written as the diary of a pioneer woman, Sarah Prine, traveling with her family through the Arizona Territory from 1881 to 1901. I admit I didn't get far in. Diary format is pretty tricky. It can come across as rather thin and depends on a strong voice. As you can tell from the very title, this is one of those books that uses deliberate misspellings and grammatical infelicities (and no quotes to offset dialogue) in an attempt to create that voice. Sometimes doing this--my recent read, the moving The Color Purple comes to mind--can work beautifully. But here I simply found it annoying and awkward, maybe because Sarah doesn't come across to me as real. She's supposed to be seventeen at the beginning of this book but comes across as about seven in her diary. Tragedy upon tragedy is piled upon very early in this book. Within the first 20 pages, covering little more than a month, Sarah's younger brother Clover is killed by snakebite, her elder brother Ernest loses his arm in an attack by Indians, a friend of Sarah is raped before her eyes and Sarah kills the attackers, and her father dies. All that is crammed in, and her reactions strike me as strangely flat and unreal and there Turner lost me.

[dele2451 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A unflinching and unpitying glimpse into the many hardships and dangers confronting young settlers staking their claim in the American Southwest during the 1800's. I particularly enjoyed the unapologetic way the narrator/author of this fictional account handles the business of protecting herself and her family against anyone who would do them harm. This one is a little like Little House on the Prairie, but with a lot more teeth. A very good read.

[stacyinthecity · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an inspiring book roughly based on the author's ancestor that takes place mostly in my former home of Tucson, Arizona. As someone who lived in Tucson for 10 years, I found the descriptions of Tucson and Arizona of particular interest, and as someone interested in my own family history, I found the story fun and interesting. I was inspired by this woman's story and inspired to find out more about my own family.

[bookheaven_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful, exciting story based on the diary of the author's ancestor.

[cindyloumn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a diary type book of a girl in 1881-1901. It is thee MOST depressing book I've EVER read. So full of death, etc. In the beginning you dont think ANYONE will live!! Vut it's a wonderful love story of a very strong women. Which is what I loved about it.Rating=87/3/98

[catheolson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was the journal of Sarah Prine . . . a pioneer girl coming moving west with her family and braving sickness, bandits, indians, snakes, you name it. As she grows into a woman, she never loses her fire (nor her love for books). I enjoyed this book from page one all the way to the end.

[bookconcierge · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A saga of the Arizona territory, told by Sarah Plines Reed Elliot, covering 1881-1901. It's written as a journal/diary, and Turner has a gift for the language of the times, painting vivid pictures of the hard life the pioneers endured.

[bibliophyte · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a beautiful story - painfully beautiful and cathartic. The characters are entirely believable and enjoyable, so much so that I was hooked before I had even read fifteen pages. I adore Sarah: her spunk, honesty, sense of humor, the intensity of her love. She has a brimming personality and is someone I feel like I would want to be best friends with. I think I fell a little in love with Captain Elliot, and since I finished the book ten minutes ago I am in danger of bursting into tears (again). This book was written so well, so effectively (and unaffectedly), I won't dare to disagree with how the author chose to end her story, though I will admit I was hoping it would have an "And they lived happily ever after" ending. Regardless of whether the story closed the way I wanted it to or not, though, These Is My Words is a poignant book well worth reading. I picked it up inexpensively at a book sale and was planning on trading it at the bookshop for credit, but after finishing it, I think I'll hold on to it a while longer

[kyragtopgirl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book. It had great characters and a good story. I like American Historical Fiction, and I think this is a good representation of the everyday lives of people in the old west.

[clowns5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

LOVED THIS BOOK!!! Well written!

[abigailyow · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

After reading the book, I can see why it's so well-received. At first, I had a hard time getting into the story with all the grammatical and punctuation errors but as expected, it improved and I gradually got a hang of it. I found myself rooting for Sarah Prine throughout the novel which is something I don't usually do unless I feel for the character. I love her independent spirit, her motivation and most of all, she doesn't come off as perfect. Instead, as a normal human being with flaws and weaknesses. Highly recommended!

[kelslynn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the story of a young woman moving into and settling in the Arizona Territory in the late 1800s. She writes in diary form of Indian attacks, of the friendship with families of different ethnic and religious beliefs, of the lives of her mother and siblings, and her deep relationship with an Army man who is morally bound to fight Indians. It's a refreshing easy read that was thoroughly enjoyable.

[ark76_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

After reading this emotional journey of a woman's life as a western settler, I feel conflicted. At the same time I have never been so happy to be living in the 21st century while also realizing how much all of our conveniences actually take away from us. The connection between neighbors, devotion to family and reliance on yourself to survive have all been weakend. I loved the way the book was written as a diary, in the first person. We meet the writer as a young 18 year-old woman facing the difficulties of a trail passage. It is a love story. A woman's love for her family, a man, education, and ultimately, for herself as she finally recognizes in herself the strenth and passion those around her have always admired and relied upon. This book reminds me of an adult Little House on the Prairie.

[bacreads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It took me about 80 pages to get into but then was interesting and amazing what Sarah did to establish her ranch, marry, raise her children and take care of family and friends. Humerous and tragic. I would be interested to know how much was from Sarah's actual diary and how much the author interspersed.

[creighley_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful tale of settling the Old West-Tuscon, Arizona, area.