Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
449th out of 756 books
—
3,430 voters
The Prize Winner Of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids On 25 Words Or Less
by
Terry Ryan
Evelyn Ryan, wife of an alcoholic husband and mother of ten children, lived in a small town in a time and place when women did not seek jobs outside the home. When finances ran low, feeling desperate, she turned to her parish priest who suggested she "take in laundry." Ryan had to laugh at the advice because she could barely keep up with her own family's washing and ironin...more
496 pages
Published
(first published April 4th 2001)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
Mix together “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” or “The Glass Castle” (for the drunken dad and the poverty) and “Cheaper by the Dozen” or even our own home in Orem, Utah, in the 50's, and you get the feel of this book. Author Terry Ryan lived in my own era, and she captures it perfectly. Hey, their family was even more deprived than we were! And I remember entering those contests, where you complete a jingle in 25 words or less. But I had no idea I was competing against women who wrote jingles full-tim...more
What I learned from this book is that you don't have to have a perfect life to be happy. Evelyn Ryan chooses to be happy in spite of numerous trials and setbacks, which would turn someone like me into a bitter old woman. Reading this book made me think that if she could raise her 10 children under her circumstances without regret, then maybe I can do a little better with my three kids, and keep a more positive outlook.
I also love the writing in this book, both Terry and Evelyn's writing! I am r...more
I also love the writing in this book, both Terry and Evelyn's writing! I am r...more
This kind of story always makes me feel really feisty-- it's about the author's mother who overcame the disadvantages of an alcoholic husband and poverty to raise 10 children; and then I realize, I am not living in poverty, and my husband is about as far from abusive as you can get. So, I guess the real take-home message is not to let your disadvantages define you, and to be the sort of person who gets out and does something about their problems rather than sit by and whine about them. This stor...more
Mom read a review of this book and one day went to the bookstore with several reviews and told the clerk she wanted all of them. She hadn't read it yet. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and kept quoting it the whole time I was there on vacation.
The author was number six of ten children born into an Irish Catholic family. The father drank a large proportion of his already insufficient paycheck. The mother, Evelyn Ryan, entered contests constantly to try to keep the family afloat. She also kept meticulou...more
The author was number six of ten children born into an Irish Catholic family. The father drank a large proportion of his already insufficient paycheck. The mother, Evelyn Ryan, entered contests constantly to try to keep the family afloat. She also kept meticulou...more
My mom would love this book.
It's a worshipful biography of a woman who would supplement her husband's too-small-for-ten-kids income by writing advertising jingles and entering them in contests. The highlight for me was the anecdote about Mrs. Ryan's ten-minute grocery shopping spree. This homemaker was determined to fill her freezer (another contest win) with food items other than fish sticks, and she approached her one chance at free groceries with military strategy.
I also thought that the aut...more
It's a worshipful biography of a woman who would supplement her husband's too-small-for-ten-kids income by writing advertising jingles and entering them in contests. The highlight for me was the anecdote about Mrs. Ryan's ten-minute grocery shopping spree. This homemaker was determined to fill her freezer (another contest win) with food items other than fish sticks, and she approached her one chance at free groceries with military strategy.
I also thought that the aut...more
In the 1950s and 60s, companies frequently promoted their products by sponsoring contests which required the entrant to finish the last line of an advertising slogan or write a brief essay about the featured item. Prizes ranged from appliances and cash to cars and trips around the world. An enterprising person with the patience and organization to draft and submit several well-wrought entries could supplement a household's finances handsomely. One woman took that a step further, basically replac...more
I really enjoyed this nonfictional account of a 1950s stay-at-home mom of ten children who kept the family clothed and fed by winning slogan contests. Her husband Kelly had a job at a machinery but drank away a big chunk of his paycheck (a pint of whiskey and a six pack of beer every night), so Evelyn Ryan relied on her clever wit to compensate.
The film based on the book is pretty true to the story. What I like about the book, though (which I read after seeing the movie), is reading all the rhym...more
The film based on the book is pretty true to the story. What I like about the book, though (which I read after seeing the movie), is reading all the rhym...more
I would give this 3 1/2 stars if I could. I really enjoyed the book, but would have liked to hear a little more about the family dynamics and a little less of the jingles and contests. Plus I feel like I lost some of it not knowing the tempo or music behind the jingles. Plus I could not shake my questions about why Evelyn continued to have child after child with Kelly. Even the mother in Angela's Ashes said, "Enough is enough," well before they hit 10. Evelyn was clearly a loving devoted mother...more
This book is probably my new favorite book. It stands for hard work, determination, and everything that I would like to stand for in my life. This amazing woman faced more adversity than anyone else I have ever heard of--and even was able to leave her kids an inheritance!
In the mid 20th century there were tons of contests (as opposed to modern-day sweepstakes), where marketers would allow the public to come up with jingles and slogans that they would submit for prizes. Many stay-at-home-Moms wou...more
In the mid 20th century there were tons of contests (as opposed to modern-day sweepstakes), where marketers would allow the public to come up with jingles and slogans that they would submit for prizes. Many stay-at-home-Moms wou...more
This book is a nonfiction account of how a woman of uncommon pluck and optimism provided for her family of 10 children and alcoholic husband by winning the kind of contests common in the mid 20th century that required writing skill and wit. It reminded me of "Cheaper by the Dozen" in style and good humor. It is uplifting, funny and heartwarming.
I enjoyed reading this story. a true story of a woman with 10 children back in the 50's and 60's. a woman with a lot of courage, and love for her children. She had so much ambition to write jingles, and to make ends meet the best way she knew how, by winning prizes.
What a great book! I read this right after reading Eat, Pray, Love and you couldn't find two more opposite stories. This story is about a woman who raises 10 children with her husbands meager income and her prize winnings from jingle contests. She enters this contests as much to give out let to her creative energy and wit as for the money. She shows her children how to give it your all and never give up and that the process is the enjoyment and outcome is a lucky byproduct.
What a great book!!
What a great book!!
I recently finished this great book. The author is the daughter of Evelyn Ryan, a fiesty, resilient mother of 10, who writes jingles and ads for contests. The story is mainly about her contesting.. but I am getting more 'umph' from the author's story behind the story: how her mother manages with 10 children, a drunken husband and a car that falls apart for years, washing machines and other appliances that die every month, not enough money for food and constant trips to the emergency room.. and y...more
This book was really great. One of those books about a person who is so amazing, if you wrote a novel about her, people would complain that it wasn't believable. This woman basically supported her family with the money and prizes from contests she entered. There were two times where a large cash prize came just in time to keep this family from losing their home. Amazing.
The book also made me remember all the good things about coming from a large family and made me think for the first time in my...more
The book also made me remember all the good things about coming from a large family and made me think for the first time in my...more
I enjoyed this biography on Evelyn Ryan. I was amazed how this mother of 10 children managed to keep her fragile world together with her own resourcefulness, a positive attitude and a sense of humor. Her abusive husband spent most of what little money they had on alcohol. In an era when divorce wasn't an option, Evelyn rose above her trials time and again. I gave the story three stars because at times the writing is a little lackluster. The example and life of this woman, however, is worth readi...more
I tore through this book until the last page - the star of this inspirational tale, Evelyn Ryan, is one of the most amazing characters I've ever seen on page. Amazing still, that she was a real person, a 50's housewife raising ten children with little to no help from her alcoholic husband. This would be a tale of woe if it weren't for Evelyn's ingenuity, skill, and luck at entering contests. Her cute and clever rhyming jingles, included appropriately throughout the book along with the kitschy ad...more
I picked up a copy of this book after viewing the film of the same name starring Julianne Moore. I had heard a lot of good things about the movie though it didn't really catch on with audiences. It made me want to read the story from the original. It goes without saying that the book is very different from the film, though the quirky vintage graphics found on most of the pages were reproduced in clever montages.
What's very nice is that Ryan gives a lot of examples throughout the book in her moth...more
What's very nice is that Ryan gives a lot of examples throughout the book in her moth...more
The full title of this book is The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio. How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less by Terry Ryan. That pretty much sets the premise of the book, which is based on the true story of Evelyn Ryan who raised a hungry brood on contest winnings in the 1950s and ‘60s. Her husband was an alcoholic who contributed very little to the family. In fact, his inability to provide for his family, coupled with his abusive temper was a hindrance that Evelyn had to work around. Und...more
This is the true story of a woman in the 1950s and 1960s who kept her family of ten children fed, clothed, and sheltered by winning contests. The family was often in danger of the poor house because the father was an abusive alcoholic who spent most of his pay on liquor. The mother, Evelyn, almost single-handedly held the family together and raised ten children who went on to successful careers and families. She had no option to leave her husband since she had a child every two years (the family...more
I'm not sure where or why I got this book. It's been lying around for some time, so I thought I'd give it a try. The story is heartbreaking in some ways, inspiring in others, and interesting throughout. It's the story of Evelyn Lenore Lehman Ryan and her family and how she kept them more-or-less solvent through winning product-promotion contests that were common-place during most of her married life. It's a history of a poor family living in small-town America during the middle of the 20th centu...more
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio is about a women, Evelyn Ryan, who kept poverty at bay with wit, poetry and perfect prose during the "contest era" of the 1950's and 60's. Terry Ryan tells how her mother kept their family afloat by writing contest and jingle entries. Dealing with an alcoholic husband, she was determined to keep her family together, give her children an education they deserved and ultimately in the end to desperately keep their home. She started entering every contest she could...more
The subtitle--"How my Mother raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less"--is a good summary of this sunny, cheerful biography, by an adoring daughter. It is about life in a small town in the American heartland, and in the time described, the '50s and '60s, that town still throbbed with activity. As the end of the book makes clear, things have changed--gone are the Burma-Shave signs, trading stamps, automotive tail fins and advertising jingles. But the stories remain
You might be reminded here of "Chea...more
This 1950’s true-story is poignant enough to give the modern woman hope and encouragement for creating her own successes despite constant hardships. I don’t have ten kids or an alcoholic husband, but there’s something about Evelyn’s story that is very relatable. Maybe it’s the feeling of being judged, trying to make ends meet or sacrificing your own plans because of a kid crisis that so many of us moms can understand. Whatever it was, I have to admit I was brought to tears on more than one occas...more
What an amazing woman!!! Evelyn Ryan lived a very difficult life (according to me) and she managed to laugh and find the wit in her everyday life in such a way that amazed me. I don't suffer nearly the struggles she did and I find lots to be grumpy about. This book called me to repentance! I love the stories about Charly the chicken that attacked everyone in the family except Evelyn. This woman loved and nurtured those around her - from stray cats, injured birds, and her 10 children. I was amaze...more
Someone mentioned this book to me, saying she'd heard it was a good, uplifting biography. It is. What started out a little slow, quickly drew me in. This was not the funny tale of a large family I expected it to be, but a story of resilience, the power of a positive attitude, and a look back at the nostalgia (and some of the harsh realities) of America in the 1950s. The wife of an alcoholic and mother of ten, Evelyn Ryan manages to maintain a happy home, barely keeping the bill collectors at bay...more
This was a love song from a daughter to a mother, and on that level, it’s quite good. Not the sort of book I would normally read, but the Pierce County Library made it available to my book club in a nifty book club kit, so there’s that. It continues the pattern of reading group books being about women who are witnesses to history, rather that something more active. My growing dislike of this genre is likely darkening my view of it. I was quite frustrated that the Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio ad...more
I loved this book. I picked it up because I had recently re-watched the movie and realized I liked it much more than I had remembered. I was pleasantly surprised to find the movie stuck very closely to the book. It had added a little teenage-angst-over-drunkard-father that wasn't in the book (of course), but on the whole, even the scenes I figured were Holywood fabrications, it seems were true-to-life.
I enjoyed this story so much because of how the mother turned everyday life into hope, joy and...more
I enjoyed this story so much because of how the mother turned everyday life into hope, joy and...more
This book will make you laugh, cry & grit your teeth in frustration. This echoes my feeling about the story...
From Library Journal
Evelyn Ryan, wife of an alcoholic husband and mother of ten children, lived in a small town in a time and place when women did not seek "jobs." When finances ran low, feeling desperate, she turned to her parish priest who suggested she "take in laundry." Ryan had to laugh at the advice because she could barely keep up with her own family's washing and ironing. A l...more
From Library Journal
Evelyn Ryan, wife of an alcoholic husband and mother of ten children, lived in a small town in a time and place when women did not seek "jobs." When finances ran low, feeling desperate, she turned to her parish priest who suggested she "take in laundry." Ryan had to laugh at the advice because she could barely keep up with her own family's washing and ironing. A l...more
I am horrible. I love books that are made into movies. I'll add almost anything with that criteria to my list. But at least I diversify in which order I do them first. Sometimes I read the book first, sometimes I watch the movie first and sometimes I'll leave out one. I read Where the Heart Is, but I never managed to catch the movie. I saw Harry Potter first and then blew through all the books. I read In Her Shoes last December and finally saw the movie over the weekend.
For some reason Prize Win...more
For some reason Prize Win...more
Having lived in Ohio since 2003 I had heard of this book simply because it takes place in a rural town in Ohio. I decided to read it because it was the Book Club selection for March for the MOMS Club Hilliard-North.
The Prize Winner is “Evelyn Ryan, wife of an alcoholic husband and mother of ten children, living in a small town in a time and place when women did not seek "jobs." When finances ran low, feeling desperate, she turned to her parish priest who suggested she "take in laundry." Ryan had...more
The Prize Winner is “Evelyn Ryan, wife of an alcoholic husband and mother of ten children, living in a small town in a time and place when women did not seek "jobs." When finances ran low, feeling desperate, she turned to her parish priest who suggested she "take in laundry." Ryan had...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“Sometimes when your life seems most out of control, you know there's a direction. I don't mean you can't have free will--in fact, that can be the most important part.
”
—
4 people liked it
”
“Writer's Resolution
Enough's Enough! No more shall I
Pursue the Muse and scorch the pie
Or dream of Authoring a book
When I (unhappy soul) must cook;
Or burn the steak while I wool-gather,
And stir my spouse into a lather
Invoking words like "Darn!" and such
And others that are worse (Oh, much!)
Concerning culinary knack
Which I (HE says) completely lack.
I'll keep my mind upon my work;
I'll learn each boresome cooking quirk;
This day shall mark a new leaf's turning...
That smell! Oh Hell! The beans are burning!”
—
3 people liked it
More quotes…
Enough's Enough! No more shall I
Pursue the Muse and scorch the pie
Or dream of Authoring a book
When I (unhappy soul) must cook;
Or burn the steak while I wool-gather,
And stir my spouse into a lather
Invoking words like "Darn!" and such
And others that are worse (Oh, much!)
Concerning culinary knack
Which I (HE says) completely lack.
I'll keep my mind upon my work;
I'll learn each boresome cooking quirk;
This day shall mark a new leaf's turning...
That smell! Oh Hell! The beans are burning!”
Nov 13, 2008 11:08pm