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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
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
parts of the book were a bit tedious, but it was interesting that the author's mother chose to stay with the alcoholic father, that didn't support the family. The excuse was that in the '50's and '60's women did NOT leave/divorce their husbands. I think this mother would have done better without the husband. The ending is good though.
Oh, my heart. What a woman was Mrs. Evelyn Ryan/Evelyn J. Ryan/Eve L. Ryan/ etc.
Devoting her all to keeping their household running (10 kids, cats/dogs/chickens/etc, and alcoholic father), the resourceful Evelyn applies her uncanny "knack with words" to flourish in the 1950s-era world of contests. The book is peppered with her clever jingles, slogans and rhymes, and full of warm recollections of a household full of bright energy and antics, in spite of hardship and lack.
This book, written by Mrs. Ryan's daughter, is full of amusement, but is moreover a touching tribute to the resilient, enterprising, magnificent woman who "raised 10 kids on 25 words or less."
Devoting her all to keeping their household running (10 kids, cats/dogs/chickens/etc, and alcoholic father), the resourceful Evelyn applies her uncanny "knack with words" to flourish in the 1950s-era world of contests. The book is peppered with her clever jingles, slogans and rhymes, and full of warm recollections of a household full of bright energy and antics, in spite of hardship and lack.
This book, written by Mrs. Ryan's daughter, is full of amusement, but is moreover a touching tribute to the resilient, enterprising, magnificent woman who "raised 10 kids on 25 words or less."
I liked this one, but I got tired of reading the jingles after a while, and I didn't feel like it flowed very well.
It's always fascinating to see how people lived just a few decades ago. And particularly those who were just barely scraping by. The book shows the misogyny and other issues of the time without beating you over the head with it. You also see a glimpse of how things have changed in marketing and culture since the 50s and 60s.
My Iowa grandmother also wore girdles and entered lots of mail-in sweepstakes. This felt like family history.
I went into this memoir thinking it would be more along the lines of Cheaper By the Dozen or Life with Father or Mama's Bank Account. A sentimental, light-hearted look at a family from an earlier generation. This was a lot more The Glass Castle than I was expecting.
The author tries her best to downplay what a narcissistic alcoholic her father was but his sociopathy still shines though bright and clear. Maybe if you grew up with a violent abusive parent or were married to a violent, abusive spouse then her stories of him wouldn't sound so egregious and upsetting? Coming from a repressed, WASP-y family where we barely even ever raised out voices, I found the stories of their dad flying into crazy rages unsettling and creepy. He tore the door off the oven during a temper tantrum. He hit their sainted mom so hard she was unconscious and bleeding from the ears. Talk about killing the vibe of a warm loving family.
Their mom, on the other hand, was amazing. Obviously a genius IQ. Such an incurable optimist and a supportive & loving mother. Her one flaw was that she married a complete tool and then wouldn't kick him out of the house. The author tries to half-heartedly rationalize why her mom remained chained to a loser but none of the excuses rang true to me. Just imagine how far their mother would have gone if instead she had married someone her intellectual, emotional, and spiritual peer? What heights could she have soared to? Instead, thanks to birth control being illegal, she gets pregnant by her loser "bad boy" boyfriend and is forced to marry him to "save face". Setting her on the path of unnecessary struggle and hardship. So tragic.
I did enjoy reading all about the national contests back then and the tricks to winning them. There were a lot of lovely stories about the kids and their mom, only marred by the lurking presence of the monster father in the kitchen, drinking all their money away before flying into a rage. I guess the plus side of having a father like that is that the kids all became very close to one another and to their beloved mother. The entire time I was reading the memoir, I was hoping the dad would drop dead. That thought ruined the light read I was looking for.
The author tries her best to downplay what a narcissistic alcoholic her father was but his sociopathy still shines though bright and clear. Maybe if you grew up with a violent abusive parent or were married to a violent, abusive spouse then her stories of him wouldn't sound so egregious and upsetting? Coming from a repressed, WASP-y family where we barely even ever raised out voices, I found the stories of their dad flying into crazy rages unsettling and creepy. He tore the door off the oven during a temper tantrum. He hit their sainted mom so hard she was unconscious and bleeding from the ears. Talk about killing the vibe of a warm loving family.
Their mom, on the other hand, was amazing. Obviously a genius IQ. Such an incurable optimist and a supportive & loving mother. Her one flaw was that she married a complete tool and then wouldn't kick him out of the house. The author tries to half-heartedly rationalize why her mom remained chained to a loser but none of the excuses rang true to me. Just imagine how far their mother would have gone if instead she had married someone her intellectual, emotional, and spiritual peer? What heights could she have soared to? Instead, thanks to birth control being illegal, she gets pregnant by her loser "bad boy" boyfriend and is forced to marry him to "save face". Setting her on the path of unnecessary struggle and hardship. So tragic.
I did enjoy reading all about the national contests back then and the tricks to winning them. There were a lot of lovely stories about the kids and their mom, only marred by the lurking presence of the monster father in the kitchen, drinking all their money away before flying into a rage. I guess the plus side of having a father like that is that the kids all became very close to one another and to their beloved mother. The entire time I was reading the memoir, I was hoping the dad would drop dead. That thought ruined the light read I was looking for.
This was a light, mildly entertaining read. Great for a rainy day and a few hours to kill. It is uplifting enough to get through winter nights. The simplistic and colorful writing style is perfect for this kind of story and makes a nice contrast to the playful contest entries that the main character sends in. She had a real gift for language. The story is about triumph and getting by and staying positive and hopeful the whole time. That is the real beauty of this book. It's a good book if you need that extra pick me up or are feeling a little depressed.
This was an extremely interesting read! This is a story, written by one of her 10 children, about Evelyn Ryan. She was a contest enterer extraordinaire and won SO many cool things. She did it as a full time job to keep the family treading water while her alcoholic husband's paycheck disappeared night after night to booze. It seems so unlikely that anyone could win as much as she did, but there are pictures and scanned entry forms a small amount of contests she entered. She was amazing with words, limericks and figuring out clever ways to advertise products. She never did anything for herself; everything was to help her kids and family. I found the stories of the shenanigans that her children got into hilarious and can't even fathom how she handled it all. This was an extremely quick read- maybe 5-6 hours for the whole book. I'm glad this got picked for book club this month.
A great story about raising a large family during hard times.