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192 reviews for:
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less
Terry Ryan
3.86 AVERAGE
192 reviews for:
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less
Terry Ryan
3.86 AVERAGE
An entertaining, often humorous look at 1950s America and the life of an intelligent, indomitable women who kept a family of 12 afloat on sheer wit and determination.
I am glad I read this book. It was a great story that was inspiring and fun to read. This woman was so positive and creative. I loved reading about how she came up with her "jingles." I find it amazing how she was able to turn her special talent into something that her family was able to survive on, financially and emotionally!
Evelyn Ryan was an inspirational woman and mother, and her story was fascinating. I was impressed with her competition skills and ability to solve her family’s financial problems. A wonderful read.
Eh, I'm giving up on this one. More documentation than storytelling. And I can only take so many cutesy little jingles. Guess I should have realized ahead of time that that could limit my enjoyment of reading about a woman who supported a family by writing cutesy little jingles. Hmmm.
I didn't finish, but each chapter was nearly identical to the last.
Kind of reminded me of a 1950's/60's, true-life version of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. To be honest, I got a little bored with reading all of the contest entries, but the family memoir was really interesting.
Terry Ryan made me love her mother almost as much as Terry did herself. Evelyn Ryan is shown as quite human, but in the way we should all strive to be human. A fascinating story with details that ring true. The descriptions of growing up in a large family with limited resources were familiar the total lack of privacy, the rice with powdered milk.
When I finished this book I wanted to write me up some jingles, even though there are no longer any contests for them.
When I finished this book I wanted to write me up some jingles, even though there are no longer any contests for them.
If you are sick and are in need of a simple but pleasant book, this is your book. Maybe not the most exciting book, so if you are seeking Michael Bay explosions or children killing each other for survival-you are at a dead end. But if you are looking for endearing, real characters that overcame the trials of life in such a way that you yourself feel the need to be strong like them-then you have found your place. I closed this book feeling a tenderness towards the mother, wishing her strength upon myself, and hoping that I can be more creative in life's challenges.
I think if you were a child in the fifties or come from a large Catholic family you would probalby like this tale of a clever woman in a difficult circumstance. I found her life a little sad and the book itself not that well written.