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More copies of this ISBNThis title in other editionseBook editionsThe Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Lessby Terry Ryan
Staff Pick
Evelyn Ryan's family may have been one of the poorest in town, but her children did not go without the occasional taste of well-earned luxury. Their mother entered every contest imaginable (there were plenty in the '50s and '60s) and won everything from candy bars and basketballs to a trip to Switzerland and a down payment on the family's house. Terry Ryan ? poet, collaborating author of the long-running T. O. Sylvester cartoon, and sixth in Evelyn's brood ? offers this utterly heartwarming memoir about her mother's knack for keeping the family in shoes and in stitches when basic necessities and laughter would have otherwise been scarce. Ryan's memoir reveals as much about American consumers' relationship with postwar marketing as it does about her mother's wit and resourcefulness. Evelyn's jingles, crafted at the ironing board, made it into magazines, roadside Burma Shave signs, and ad campaigns all over the country. Her determination to share with her family every taste and experience that Privilege would never have deigned to grant them is deftly portrayed in this exhilarating tribute to spirit. Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:"The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio" introduces Evelyn Ryan, an enterprising woman who kept poverty at bay with wit, poetry, and perfect prose during the "contest era" of the 1950s and 1960s. Stepping back into a time when fledgling advertising agencies were active partners with consumers, and everyday people saw possibility in every coupon, Terry Ryan tells how her mother kept the family afloat by writing jingles and contest entries. Mom's winning ways defied the Church, her alcoholic husband, and antiquated views of housewives. To her, flouting convention was a small price to pay when it came to securing a happy home for her six sons and four daughters. Evelyn, who would surely be a Madison Avenue executive if she were working today, composed her jingles not in the boardroom, but at the ironing board. By entering contests wherever she found them — TV, radio, newspapers, direct-mail ads — Evelyn Ryan was able to win every appliance her family ever owned, not to mention cars, television sets, bicycles, watches, a jukebox, and even trips to New York, Dallas, and Switzerland. But it wasn't just the winning that was miraculous; it was the timing. If a toaster died, one was sure to arrive in the mail from a forgotten contest. Days after the bank called in the second mortgage on the house, a call came from the Dr Pepper company: Evelyn was the grand-prize winner in its national contest — and had won enough to pay the bank. Graced with a rare appreciation for life's inherent hilarity, Evelyn turned every financial challenge into an opportunity for fun and profit. From her frenetic supermarket shopping spree — worth $3,000 today — to her clever entries worthy of Erma Bombeck, Dorothy Parker, and Ogden Nash, the story of this irrepressible woman whose talents reached far beyond her formidable verbal skills is told in "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio" with an infectious joy that shows how a winning spirit will triumph over the poverty of circumstance. Synopsis:The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio introduces Evelyn Ryan, an enterprising woman who kept poverty at bay with wit, poetry, and perfect prose during the "contest era" of the 1950s and 1960s. Evelyn's winning ways defied the church, her alcoholic husband, and antiquated views of housewives. To her, flouting convention was a small price to pay when it came to raising her six sons and four daughters. Graced with a rare appreciation for life's inherent hilarity, Evelyn turned every financial challenge into an opportunity for fun and profit. The story of this irrepressible woman, whose clever entries are worthy of Erma Bombeck, Dorothy Parker, and Ogden Nash, is told by her daughter Terry with an infectious joy that shows how a winning spirit will always triumph over poverty. Synopsis:This bestselling memoir starring a Midwestern wife and mother whose prize-winning poetry and prose kept her family afloat through the most difficult of times is now basis for a feature film from DreamWorks, starring Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson, scheduled for release in September. About the AuthorTerry Ryan, the sixth of Evelyn Ryan's ten children, was a consultant on the film adaptation of The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio. She lives in San Francisco, California. Suze Orman is the author of three consecutive New York Times bestsellers, The Road to Wealth, The Courage to Be Rich, and The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom, and the national bestseller You've Earned It, Don't Lose It. She is the personal finance editor on CNBC and the host of The Suze Orman Show, a national CNBC-TV show that airs every weekend. She is also a contributing editor to O The Oprah Magazine. Suze wrote, coproduced, and hosted three PBS pledge shows based on her bestselling books, which are among the most successful fundraisers in the history of public television. A new PBS special based on The Laws of Money, the Lessons of Life premieres in 2003. Suze has also been called a "one-woman financial-advice powerhouse" by USA Today. In 1999, she was named by Smart Money magazine to its list of the top thirty powerbrokers in the United States. Suze was recently selected as one of five distinguished recipients of the prestigious 2002 TJFR Group Business News Luminaries Award, which honors lifetime achievement in business journalism. In 2003, she was inducted into the Books for a Better Life Awards' Hall of Fame in recognition of her ongoing contributions to self-improvement. She was also profiled in Worth magazine's 100th issue as among those "who have revolutionized the way America thinks about money." Suze's popular web site, SuzeOrman.com, features, among other valuable financial information, her monthly e-newsletter. Table of ContentsContents Foreword by Suze Orman Part One 1. The Contester 2. Rhyme Does Pay 3. Supermarket Spree Part Two 4. The Sleeping Giant 5. Father of the Year 6. Too Damned Happy 7. Defiance 8. Tickle Hills Part Three 9. Poet Laureate 10. Giant Steps 11. Name That Sandwich Part Four 12. The Affadaisies 13. Round Robin 14. Going, Going, Gone Part Five 15. Hell and High Water 16. Mrs. Etchie 17. Such a Thing as Destiny Part Six 18. Rock Bottom 19. Her Weight in Gold Epilogue: A Truckload of Birds Afterword by Betsy Ryan What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!Average customer rating based on 2 comments: 
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Related SubjectsBiography » General Biography » Literary Biography » Women History and Social Science » Feminist Studies » Work History and Social Science » Gender Studies » Womens Studies Languages » Foreign Languages » Spanish » Biography » Women
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