Rating: 
Summary: What happened to our Ryan families?
Review: I grew up in Defiance, OH at the same time as the Ryan family. This book brought back a lot of memories of that time and place. I never knew the Ryan family personally, but I think everyone in Defiance knew of them. I couldn't put the book down once I started reading because it was a combination of great personal revelation and struggle yet a very touching tribute to a wonderful woman and mother who never gave up in her quest to provide for her family in spite of daily hardships. Ten children are successful today because of her sacrifices and ambition. The world needs more Ryan families today to help it become the trusting, moral, apprecitive and loving planet that God intended.
Rating:
Summary: Inspirational without being nauseating
Review: The only truly appropriate review of this book would be in rhyming verse and 25 words or less. But I don't have Evelyn Ryan's gift.I enjoyed this book on many levels. The amazing "Prize Winner" herself, surviving and even triumphing (sometimes) over a truly dreadful situation. The hysterically silly rhymes she came up with! The way she never let poverty, alcoholism, even violence slow her down or ruin her enjoyment of life. The ferocious love she had for all ten of her children. Wotta woman. But this book is more than an inspiration. It is also a damming portrait of the "good old days" our politicians and other hand-wringers want to revive. Evelyn Ryan was trapped in a marriage to an alcoholic, forced by her inflexible church to have child after child that they could not afford, and of course prevented by tradition and all those kids from pursuing a career of her own. I suspect that her contest wins, the devotion of her children, and her own hopeful nature made life bearable for her, but she deserved better. I recommend this book highly. Although it's certainly "inspirational" it's never sentimental or cloying.
Rating:
Summary: Great look at an America that barely existed
Review: The Prize Winner Of Defiance Ohio" is a beautiful love letter from a daughter to her mother. It is a special kind of biography that chronicles the life of Evelyn Ryan an extraordinarily resourceful woman who was born ahead of her time. Evelyn Ryan, raised her ten children with grace and style, using her wit and ability to see the humor in a life that would have most people begging for relief to win prizes large and small. It is an unflinching look at a large family that depended on an alcoholic and abusive breadwinner who was more likely to drink his wages rather than pay his mortgage. "The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio" is a fantastic chronicle of an America that no longer exists and in some ways never existed. It shatters the myth of the middle class 50's housewife who stayed at home and took care of the children without 'worrying her little head' about the finances. In this America contests were won by skill rather than luck and Evelyn managed to keep her family going with prizes such as that ranged from bicycles to two-week trips to Switzerland (converted to cash) to TVs and juke boxes. Ryan had the touch. This book has made me laugh and cry and think about my family. My grandmother was in an abusive marriage, with an alcoholic husband and seven children, at around the same time that Evelyn was at a time when the law and the community blamed a woman for an abusive husband. What a life. What a great story. Buy this book and celebrate the life of Evelyn Ryan, or E.L. Ryan, or Mrs. Ryan, or whatever entry was the winner of the day, with her daughter, Terry Ryan
Rating:
Summary: A 50's era women proves her mettle!
Review: As a woman born in the 50's and raised in the 60's, I could relate very strongly to this book. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for this woman to try and raise her family while meeting the expectations of her husband, her church and the rest of society, while making a home and raising her family. I have nothing but admiration for the way she found a special niche for her talent for writing jingles and milked it to the fullest while struggling to raise ten children in difficult circumstances. This is a book that is inspiring because it is true, proving once again that truth can often be stranger than fiction - and more awesome.
Rating:
Summary: Determination and courage
Review: Often we hear someone say that they "just couldn't put a book down." That's how I felt while reading The Prize Winner. I live about 40 miles from Defiance, grew up in the 40's and 50's, and my family struggled financially, so I can understand why Mrs. Ryan appreciated the opportunities afforded by the contests. She was definitely a "survivor" and I can understand why her children admired her and appreciated her courage and determination. She was indeed clever. As a former English teacher I enjoyed her "word" power and clever use of language. This was a different kind of story, and one that I will recommend highly.
Rating: 
Summary: Heartwarming and humorous
Review: Evelyn Ryan was certainly a unique woman, deserving of the loving portrait her daughter has painted of her. This book has it all from laughter to tears as we discover life in a family of ten kids, an alcoholic father and a hard-working, quick-thinking mother who seems to be able to perform miracles by entering contests and writing poetry. This book is a fast read, partly because you won't want to wait to see what happens next, and also because of the many 50's and 60's era contest entries which are included. A bit more editing might have made it a better book, but don't let that dissuade you from picking up this uplifting and inspirational book.
Rating:
Summary: Inspiring
Review: It's rare that I would use the word "inspiring" to describe a book, finding most books that purport to be inspirational are in fact overly sentimental and predictable. But this book deserves that description. Using clear, straightfoward prose, Terry Ryan tells the story of how her mother, married to an alcoholic who drank much of the family's small income, raised ten children in a small Ohio town. Advised at one point to take in laundry, Mrs. Ryan chose instead to earn much-needed extra income by entering jingle-writing contests, and writing humorous poems and short stories. She won frequently enough, and had enough of her poems and stories published, to keep the family afloat despite their financial difficulties. Important as the money was, it was also her emotional strength that kept the family going. Her story would no doubt be worthy of respect no matter who told it, but in Terry Ryan's hands it has gone beyond the mundane and cliched to become something moving and memorable.
Rating:
Summary: Defying The Odds
Review: Evelyn Ryan must nourish the physical and spiritual needs of ten children in the shadows of poverty and an abusive husband. A gifted writer and poet, she enters and wins fabulous prizes in advertising slogan contests, popular in the '50's and '60's. Those prizes arrive in the 'nick of time' as appliances break and bankers are about to foreclose. The story goes beyond new cars, appliances and cash. Evelyn is trapped in the housewife stereotype of that era with no option to divorce a true jerk or explore career options beyond her ironing board. She must use her wits and a positive spirit to carry her babies to new heights. Defiance, Ohio was founded by General Mad Anthony Wayne, who 'defied . . . the British and all the devils in hell' to take his fort. Stand aside, General Wayne. Evelyn Ryan best exhibited a defiant spirit that will inspire us all.
Rating:
Summary: Chickens and Laughter
Review: This book had me rolling in laughter the entire time it took to read it. I was sad to have finished it so quickly! The belief that "good things come to those that expect it" can't be more supported by this family's story. The chicken story was worth the price alone! Thanks to Terry Ryan for sharing with the rest of the world the unbeatable spirit of her mother.
Rating:
Summary: Touching memories
Review: I first read about this book in a book review in my local newspaper and it caught my attention right away. Both my husband and I are from large Catholic families who struggled to make ends meet. Ms. Ryan's memories are poignant and she honored her mother by telling the world what a real hero Evelyn Ryan was. Her family came first! A must read.
| 
