Synopses & Reviews
Not all journeys come to an end.... 1867. Ruth Holtz has more blessings than she can counta loving husband, an abundant farm, beautiful children, and the warm embrace of the Amish community. Then, the English arrive, spreading incredible stories of free land in the West and inspiring her husband to dream of a new life in Idaho.
Breaking the rules of their Order, Ruths husband packs up his pregnant wife and their four children and joins a wagon train heading west. Though Ruth is determined to keep separate from the English, as stricture demands, the harrowing journey soon compels her to accept help from two unlikely allies: Hortence, the preachers wife, and the tomboyish, teasing Sadie.
But as these new friendships lead to betrayal, what started as a quest for a brighter future ends with Ruth making unthinkable sacrifices, risking faith and family, and transforming into a woman she never imagined shed become
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“Incredibly vivid and real and almost as though everything had been found, complete in a box somewhere.” The Washington Post
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“A vivid picture of one womans true grit on the frontier.” Dallas Morning News
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This is a beautifully written book that quickly captures readers attention and holds it tightly and emotionally until the end. Library Journal
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“Clear, at times lyrical prose...providing vivid, colorful characters and historically accurate backdrop.” The Washington Post
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“These Is My Words is an entertaining...at times harrowing...reading experience.” Fort Worth Star-Telegram
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“A compelling portrait of an enduring love, the rough old West and a memorable pioneer.” Publishers Weekly
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“a lushly satisfying romance, period-authentic, with true-grit pioneering” Kirkus
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“Belongs on your must-read list. This novel is a gem.” Omaha World Herald
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"This lilting, image-filled first novel by poet E.B. Moore, a poet and retired sculptor, shifts seamlessly among time periods, and between narrative and letters... heart-wrenching and satisfying..."—
Publishers Weekly “Moore writes with lyrical beauty...I fell in love with Ruth and her family, was gripped by her fortitude through dark days, and held my breath to the heart-stopping end!”—Juliette Fay, author of Shelter Me and Deep Down True
“A breathtaking epic...A transporting, dramatic and thoughtful read—just the way I like them.”— Nichole Bernier, author of The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D.
“An Unseemly Wife is a disquieting tale of dreams and delusions, community and separation, loyalty and betrayal. Ultimately, Ruth is a survivor among survivors: a woman who, despite the seismic shifts in her world, stands tenaciously at her own center.”—Katheryn Leonard Czepiel, author of A Violet Season
“Top-notch historical fiction...its characters will live with me always.”—Jenna Blum, Author of Those Who Save Us
“One of those rare novels of beauty and darkness, transfixing us with a place few can imagine and a narrator as fierce as she is true.”—Michelle Hoover, Author of The Quickening
“A harrowing and gripping novel.”—Randy Susan Meyers, Bestselling Author of The Murderers Daughters and The Comfort of Lies
Synopsis
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.
Synopsis
"Belongs on your must-read list. This novel is a gem." -Omaha World-Herald
The classic adventure of one courageous woman's life and struggles in the Arizona Territories in the late nineteenth century
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.
Synopsis
Inspired by the author's original family memoirs, this absorbing novel introduces students 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.aRich in authentic details of daily life and etched with striking character portraits of very different pioneer families, this action-packed novel will immerse students in the heartbreak and wonder of the frontier experience.aSarah's incredible story leads readers into a vanished world that comes vividly to life again, while her struggles with work and home, love and responsibility will resonate with the students of today. These Is My Words is a passionate celebration of a remarkable life, exhilarating and gripping from the first page to the last.aQuestions for class discussion are included. For instance: aAlthough she remains -quaintly unsophisticated' throughout her life, Sarah's thirst for education fuels much of the plot. How does her education change her and those around her? What other themes are woven through the novel?aaFrom These Is My WordsaDecember 25, 1881aI climbed up inside and found the dearest treasure I think I have ever seen. The wagon bed was lined with boxes of books. Books and books, stacked and packed in rows...Some of them were story books, some of them seemed to be schoolbooks, and were about things I don't know of, and one is a magical book, with a big D on it, a book of words to learn to spell and what they mean.aSeptember 1, 1888aApril's first day at school. I walked with her almost all the way there...When she was gone, a strange feeling came over me, and I sat at my kitchen table and put my face in my hands. I am terribly envious of my own child. She has no idea what a blessing is being handed to her, and I can only dream of what I might have learned if I had ever lived near a school.
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USA TodaySynopsis
"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.
About the Author
E. B. Moore was born on a farm near New Hope, PA, and is a recent graduate of the Novel Incubator program at Grub Street, Boston's independent writing center. A retired metal sculptor, she is also a graduate of the school of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Moore's first book of poetry, New Eden: A Legacy was published by Finishing Line Press in 2009. Her work has appeared in literary journals including The Drum and Inkwell, as well as two anthologies of writing taken from the William Joiner Workshops. She has been a resident at Yaddo, and was accepted to the Vermont Studio Center residency on full fellowship. An Unseemly Wife is based on the life of her Old Order Amish great-grandmother.