These Is My Words

by Nancy E. Turner
Rated; PG-13

Sarah Prine is just a teenager in July of 1882 when her family decides to move from the west end of New Mexico Territory to San Angelo, Texas. Although not well educated, she decides to write her experiences ". . . so if we don't get to San Angelo or even as far as Fort Hancock I am saving this little theme in my cigar box for some wandering travelers to find and know whose bones these is." This book follows the joys and travails of Sarah's life as she records them in her diary, her discovered love of learning, and her indomitable spirit that leads her to not only survive but flourish in a harsh frontier world full of myriad dangers.

Full of fine details of life in those times, we watch Sarah grow from an uneducated teenager to a self-educated, determined young woman to a woman who is a force of nature. Truly a well-written book that grabs you and pulls you into Sarah's life (I had a hard time putting it down) but definitely not for everyone and absolutely not for the kiddos due to the many dangers and harsh and sometimes disturbing situations Sarah was involved in. Punches are not pulled in describing scenes that show almost too well the dark side of human nature. This book is PG-13 - a hard PG-13 approaching being non-recommendable for the purposes of this blog. There is frontier violence, reference to sexuality and an attempted rape although, surprisingly, only a few curse words.