title: Sarah's Secret: A Western Tale of Betrayal and Forgiveness
author:  Beverly Scott 
description: &quot;It opens in 1911 New Mexico, where Sarah&apos;s husband Sam is dying, leaving her alone to manage five children with no means of support, and evolves into a decision to leave the sandy, rattlesnake-infested world Sam has brought them to for a wagon journey back home to family roots in Nebraska. From skinning rabbits to finding safe crossings during the journey, Sarah faces quicksand bogs and many dangers as she tries to keep her family together. Scott could have kept the focus on Sarah&apos;s perspective and trials; but her book&apos;s second section focuses on Will, a &quot;sod buster&quot; who gains employment on a cattle drive as he searches for a way home, guilty about abandoning his children and wife even as he dodges the law and becomes involved with another woman. How these disparate lives come together makes for a Western story of struggle, redemption, betrayal, and family ties that winds its way through hearts and minds as deftly as it moves through early America&apos;s rugged landscape... (The story)goes well beyond well-researched history or leisure adventure to closely examine the far-reaching significance of individual lives. Readers of Western fiction who enjoy a solid blend of history and psychology, and who seek more than just a frontier flavor in their fiction, will find Sarah&apos;s Secret a revealing and absorbing read.&quot; -- <b>D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review</b><br /><br /><span>&quot;What if your world was turned upside down because the person you loved and thought you knew kept a secret that could destroy you and your family? Sarah Martin is left confused by her husband&apos;s dying words, which in a state of delirium, seemed like he was having an argument with someone. Not thinking anything of it, she instead absorbs her mind with how she&apos;s going to raise five children on her own, with no income and in a town where a widow is not welcomed. Later on, when she applies for widow benefits, to support her children, she is denied. She recalls her husband&apos;s parting words and slowly peels back their life together for clues.</span><br /><span>Scott imbues her main protagonist, Sarah Martin, with the enduring spirit of the American pioneer as she struggles to support her children. On top of wrestling with depression and grief from the loss of her husband and father, Sarah further struggles with anger and shame when the truth of why she will never receive her husband&apos;s pension is revealed. She manages against the odds by moving back to familiar territory and taking on the job of a teacher.</span><br /><span>In addition to Scott&apos;s strong characterization, the author effortlessly transplants the reader in the turn of the 20th century of the American West through the eyes of Sarah Martin. It can be difficult to imagine living in a house without readily available water or electricity. A time when cars were a novelty for well-off people and travelers often relied on the hospitality of people for directions, food, drink, and shelter. Readers who want a glimpse into the life of a pioneer woman will take joy in Sarah&apos;s tale as they get a flavor for the hardships one takes on in a new territory.&quot; - <b>Maria A. Hughes, The US Review of Books</b></span>
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  Chapter One
  
  
  If ever there was a fish out of water, Sarah Draper reflected, it was she.
  Dressed in borrowed finery, her hair properly styled for the first time in
  years, and surrounded by a society she’d long since given up, Sarah clung to
  the wall and watched as her cousin’s engagement was announced.
  
  She couldn’t be happier for Eleanor. Her cousin was the sweetest, most caring
  person Sarah had ever met in spite of, or perhaps because of the heartbreak
  she had suffered. Though Eleanor had been born into nobility, she treated
  everyone with compassion and genuine interest. And while Sarah rejoiced for
  her cousin, she recognized that her own life would soon be growing lonelier.
  Surely once Eleanor was wed, her new husband wouldn’t approve of her working
  with Sarah in their charitable aid organization in one of London’s most
  notorious slums. In fact, she realized with a frown, Eleanor’s time was sure
  to be taken up immediately with weddi