The first title I've chosen is a biography, "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less" by Terry Ryan.
Questions for discussion:
- Have you ever entered a word skill contest? Did you win?
- What made Evelyn so successful?
- Did you find yourself writing your own entries to the contests as you read about them? What did you write?
- The Ryan family's story could have been one of despair, yet the author portrays it as one of hope and joy. How does Evelyn's contesting contribute to the sense of well being in her home?
- Given the same choices, would you have trusted in this unique way of helping provide for your family?
I enjoyed this book for the first few chapters. I liked to read the contest entries and the family stories made me want to laugh and cry. But by the end, I was growing tired of this life the Ryan's were living. I think I would have chosen a different route, were it my life.
I imagine with 10 kids it would have been hard for Evelyn to work outside the home. Taking in work she could do at home, like laundry, might have provided a more steady income and put food on the table for her family. Yet she refused.
Kathy - Club Moderator
The Burma Shave poems were my favorite. I still remember driving by and reading them. I was surprised that she changed her name in order to be able to submit a lot of entries. I would be afraid to do that today in case they said I didn't use my real middle initial or something and then I wouldn't get the prize. Helen
I thought it was interesting that Suze Orman wrote the Foreword. I am sure that if Evelyn had called in to Suze's radio show, Suze would have read her the riot act!
Sophie
I liked the book. It was easy to read and all the contest entries they included were clever - though I had to re-read many of them to "get the joke."Carol
I agree with Patt. While I enjoyed the poems and phrases in the book I kept wondering how she could leave such important things - like her children and their security - to the whims of a contest.
Sophie
I had mixed feelings about the mother. Having been a working mother all my life, I couldn't understand her attitude to the children. I would have wanted more security. It seemed the older children became the parent ( in research of them as adults, a lot of them seem not to have been family oriented as adults.
Patt
I want to tell you about a neighbor of mine. She was in her late 70's when I was in my 50's and she entered every contest and sweepstake there was. She subscribed to magazines that had contests and she spent her days filling out forms.
She won several trips, appliances and even a car! She never took the trips and she sold the car - I think she liked the entering more than the winning.
Sophie
Well, I ordered the book from the library and still haven't received it yet but I like to enter contests - I also play the lottery. My son warned me not to enter the contests on the Internet though because they are tricks. But if it's in the paper or in my puzzle books, I give it a try. I want to see Ed McMahon show up at my door with that big check!
Edna
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