Rating: 
Summary: From boston
Review: I really loved this book. At first I expected a more lighthearted memior, but quickly it became apparent that it was something more. I found many honest depictions of what it is like to grow up in a dysfuncional family. But the thing that is most powerful about this book, is that Mrs. Ryan was able to face the difficulties of her situation, but not be limited or defined by them. She is a real inspiration, and the book is a wonderful tribute to a great woman.
Rating:
Summary: THIS is what people mean by the term "heart-warming"
Review: In a field crammed with memoirs of dysfunctional families, here's a book about a family that is able to be FUNCTIONAL because of an amazing woman.This book is a loving memorial to Evelyn Ryan, but also a nostalgic remembrance of the glory days of jingle contests. I don't usually like this type of book, but its premise intrigued me, so I picked it up at a discount. I now feel guilty for that (and I'm notoriously cheap). Any book this good really should be paid for at full price. I have pushed this book on everyone that I know who reads. I can't say that it's inspirational, because a major point of the book is that you couldn't do this sort of thing today -- Evelyn's language skills allowed her to support her family, not luck. I don't usually go for this type of work, but the love and admiration that Terry Ryan and her siblings have for her mother shines through this memoir. Ryan never falls into the dysfunctional family memoir trap of blaming everything on the alcoholic father. He's not evil, he's simply one more hurdle to overcome. There's no blame, just a celebration of the survival of this family, and their ability to overcome a situation that could have, and has, overwhelmed so many other people.
Rating: 
Summary: In 100 words or Less¿¿
Review: Terry Ryan's biography of her Mother is a simply told heart warming story. Through the collection of stories Terry Ryan tells, the reader ends up with a good picture of the kind of woman her mother must have been. I love the refreshing no frills type style the Author uses. By simply telling anecdotal stories the character of her Mother is allowed to shine through. The illustrations in the book are great. A real snapshot of the 50s and 60s. If you want to feel inspired by someone else's life this is a good place to start.
Rating:
Summary: daughter's moving homage to resourceful, "contester" mother
Review: Terry Ryan's moving and inspirational tribute to her mother, "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio," stresses several crucial truths. The first is that a proud and resourceful mother, using her intellectual abilities and indominable spirit, can find the personal resources to help her children prevail over material poverty. The next truth is that no person ought feel trapped by her circumstances; each human has the possibility of triumph through hope and sweat. The final, and perhaps most painful truth, is that a mother's love and devotion knows no boundaries, is not limited by a spouse's abusive alcholism, is not restricted by the prevalent sexism of mid-twentieth century Middle Ameica and is defiantly optimistic even in the face of insecurity and privation. Indeed, this lilting biography's subtitle ("How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less") pithily describes how Evelyn Ryan's devotion to prize-earning contests enables her to sustain her family of ten children through poverty and her husband's abusive alcoholism. As a "contester," Evelyn Ryan participates in a now-defunct symbiotic relationship between producers of consumer goods and advertisers. At full bloom in the late 1950s and early 1960s, thousands of women contribute poetry, jingles and slogans for their "favorite" household product; prizes range from small amounts of cash (which are crucial to help the Ryan family stay afloat) to grand-prizes of thousands of dollars, new cars and exotic trips. In the cacophony of the cramped Ryan household, Evelyn would compose while ironing, cooking and doctoring. Her poverty arises from her alcohol-saturated husband, who, in addition to imbibing a third of the family income, would take out a secretive second mortgage on their home (which, incidentally, Evelyn is able to purchase as a result of a grand-prize victory) and drink away its proceeds. Evelyn refuses to stoop to washing others' clothes, perceiving that act to be an act of capitulation to poverty. With a genuinely unshaken belief in her "knack with words" and her own intellectual love of language, she teaches her children a symbolic lesson in rejecting victimization. "We watched her systematically pursue contests as if she were born to win." Rejoicing in her victories, the children absorbed the larger lesson: "At that moment [of victory], we knew as long as we used our brains, we were not victims. By striking out to write our own ticket, we wold grow up to be like our mother -- a winner." One of the biography's strengths is the skillfully depicted relationship between Evelyn and her middle daugher, Terry. As Terry matures, she feels an occasional sense of outrage and anger at the injustice of her mother's failed attempts and permits this sour dejection to become a genralized indignation -- at her home's poverty, at her father's failures, at the terrible wrongness of her family's quiet desperation. Yet, Evelyn wisely insists that her daughter focus on life and living, to rejoice in "the feeling of being actively engaged" in an honorable pursuit of a goal. Through the adept chronicling of Terry Ryan, her mother emerges not only as an unusal, resourceful breadwinner, but as a moral model, a paradigm of purpose, cheer and courage. Full of delightful anecdotes and marvelous commentary, "The Prize Winner" is not without its flaws. The biography surely could have used more judicious editing; there is little reason for the author to have included so many samples of her mother's contest entries. Though competent and direct, the author's style never reaches eloquence; some scenes appear repetitious and add no new insight into either the workings of the Ryan family or the motivation of its mother. Nevertheless, Terry Ryan has written a fine tribute, one which harkens back to an era long since disappeared from the American social landscape, yet one which is timeless in its respectful, even adoring, presentation of a mother whose values exemplify the best of the human condition.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it, couldn't put it down, heartwarming
Review: I loved this book. I wish I had known this woman. Her story is so inspirational and readable. I finished this book in one day. I think that it should be required reading in high schools, people today don't understand real struggle, just to have food and shelter. This family often went without, but the book shines with hope and humor, it highlights a life well lived.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful, Light, Funny Read
Review: The author did a wonderful job dealing with at times heavy subject matter in a light and matter of fact manner. Truth truly is stranger than fiction. One of the best books I have read in quite a while.
Rating:
Summary: Survival of a Truly Super Mom
Review: I loved this book - at times it was hard to believe that it wasn't fiction. Terry's mom was incredible...when one thinks of how difficult it can be to experience any one of these struggles - 10 children, alcoholic husband and poverty. Terry's mom could have truly been a remarkable writer or advertising executive in another place or time. Yet, she lived in a time and space where she fought an uphill battle of survival only with her beautiful, creative and imaginative mind. This story was inspirational and touching and important to share.
Rating:
Summary: defying gravity and amazing levity
Review: i just finished reading a book called -the prize winner of defiance,ohio-,about a mother of ten kids whose husband drank a good chunk of the household income,so they had a tough time.she amazingly got through by writing jingles for advertisers and winning contests...but the real story is that she got through because of her faith.and not just a purely religious faith,though the family was catholic,but a faith that transcended religion...a faith in the universe and herself as part of it,i think. this book was really inspiring to me,not to mention that it was written by one of the woman's daughters,whose writing skills delight me.
Rating:
Summary: Forget Suze Orman, Deepak Chopra ,etal Let the Prize Winner
Review: I couldn't put this book down. In the aftermath of 9/11 I picked it up as a diversion to the mindnumbing news. This was a perfect read, funny, fun and inspirational the way no other book I have read comes close. It provides fresh insights on how to live a meaningful life even if surrounded at every turn with chaos and harsh circumstances. It also helped me to understand women in the preliberation days of the late sixties and early seventies. I intend to give this book this holiday season to friends and family. Pass the word
Rating: 
Summary: Charming, inspiring, on the light side
Review: This isn't a great literary masterpiece, but it has integrity.
I was incredibly inspired by Mrs. Ryan, a woman of
indomitable hope and perserverance in the face of
staggering odds. It was definitely uplifting to read about
her unflagging good cheer and faith and how she passed
that on to her kids. Though I think Terry's mom might have
benefited from a co-dependency recovery group or
Alanon because of her rather mean-spiried alcoholic
husband, nevertheless, the author does not dwell on this
particularly and I think that was just right. She put her mother forth as the heroine of the story, and she
certainly was. I would have liked to have known her.
|
