These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner

From Goodreads:

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.

Oh my word is this ever a five star book. Janssen reviewed it on her blog a while ago and then told me that I needed to ignore the painful title and get reading. It took me a while, but I finally got around to it and holy heavens, I freaking loved this book.

I loved the evolution of Sarah's writing as she got a little older and more educated through her reading. I loved her gumption and grit and passion. I loved the verisimilitude and the fact that her whole story took place not too far from where I live now so I could totally picture the ranch and the cholla and the flooding from the rains and all of that. I loved that I could relate to her teenage angst as well as her later trials as a mother. I love that, even though she looked at her sister-in-law as the type of person she'd like to be, I looked at her as the type of person I'D like to be.

I loved the love story. LOVED the love story. Like I wanted to grab Aaron and be like, "YOU BE JACK ELLIOT AND I'LL BE SARAH" except he would have been really confused and wandered off with a slightly scared look in his eye. Plus I know nothing about cattle ranching, but you know what I mean. Maybe.

Anyway, this is one of those that when people ask me what to read I will throw this book at them as fast as I can and tell them to get cracking. It's beautifully written and heart warming and rending and one of those that just sticks with you because it is just that good. And then makes you bawl at the end because that's what good books do.

These is My Words easily waltzes its way into my top ten.