"These Is My Words" is a beautiful and tragic account of the life and times of a young woman and her family living in the American Southwest in the late 1800s.Sarah Prine is seventeen years old when she starts writing her journal as she and her family join a small wagon train from their current home in New Mexico to San Angelo, TX where her father has heard there is plenty of land for them to raise their horses. The trip turns tragic when they are set upon by the local tribes, their horses are stolen, and several people are killed or dies along the way. By the time they get to San Angelo, Sarah has lost her father, one of her brothers, and her mother and another brother are in bad shape. Her eldest brother Albert makes the decision for the family to head back where they came from and try to resettle. This time, they join an much larger wagon train which is also accompanied by a battalion of Army soldiers who will protect them on their way back. Leading this group of soldiers is Captain Jack Elliot, and he surely confounds young Sarah with his teasing attitude toward her. However, he is all business when things get tough and his reputation for fighting and the command he has over his men is impressive. But Sarah's mama had warned her never to to take up with a no good soldier, so she tries to put him out of her mind once and for all. It seems fate has other plans though, and eventually Sarah finds Captain Jack Elliot once again, but in much different circumstances for them both.
Oh, I loved this book! I am so glad I finally picked it up and it was so hard to put down, even when it had me in tears. I don't always like stories that are told as a diary but this one was so readable and had me staying up late just to get a little further. Fantastic read for people who like a good western adventure story and enjoy a little romance, too.
