An account of the life of a young woman, Sarah Prine, from a girl to a mother. Sarah sets out with her family to the frontier of Arizona in the 1880s. Along the way, they encounter Native Americans, as well as some calvary that may wish to do them harm. She endures through teen years, eventually marrying and becoming a mother. She meets Captain Jack Elliot, and they share a love for many years.
An interesting tale of what life was like in the wild western territories at the turn of the 20th century - the dangers, the wilderness, and the grit of those who lived there. ( )

I wanted to love it but it just couldn't hold my attention. I kept having to reread sections and found myself doing grocery lists in my head instead of paying attention..... ( )

These is my words by Nancy E. Turner is the "Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 Arizona Territories.

The blurb on this book reads " The classic adventure of one courageous woman's life struggles in the Arizona Territories in the late nineteenth century, A moving exciting and heartfelt American saga inspired by the authors’ own family memoirs, these words belong to Sarah Prine a woman of spirit and fire who forges a full remarkable existence in a harsh unfamiliar frontier"

I was really looking forward to this novel but the first 50 pages of the book really had me wondering would I actually throw in the towel on this one as there was so much death and tragedy it was difficult to believe so I took some time out and did a little research to see how much of this story was fact and how much was fiction, and I was so disappointed to learn that very little of this book was actually based on fact and while it is inspired by the authors grandmother, the book is mostly fiction.

I had thought this book was a true account of Agnes prine and therefore was very disappointed. Perhaps if I had realised when purchasing that it was mostly fiction I would have approached the story differently and therefore engaged better with this book. This book has amazing reviews and perhaps I am missing something else about this story but for me this novel was over written and I never got to feel the setting of the book or the characters and felt the plot was predictable.
For me this was a long 384 pages. ( )

Not for me - doesn't seem to be much more than a harsh and bleak historical romance. Maybe if I didn't have so many more appealing books on my list I'd try harder, try to get to the happy or hopeful bits, but I skipped to the readers' guide and don't have reason to continue.

Sarah, 17, her parents and 4 brothers move their horses from their failing ranch to a hoped for new start in San Angelo, TX. That doesn't end up being the solution and they join a wagon train to the Arizona Territories. The story is told through Sarah's journal entries covering the next 20 years of her life. She has limited literacy but is determined to improve herself. The story seemed very realistic in it's covering of that period of history. There is plenty of tragedy and hardship. But Sarah is tough and practical with a longing for a true love to make life worthwhile. I truly enjoyed following Sarah's life story. ( )