The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio by Terry Ryan is one of my all-time favorite books. Not just because it is a wonderful true story about a woman who has inspired many a contestor, but because it also changed my life.
In 2003, after seeing several people chat about the book in an online contesting group, I decided to read it. I remember walking around the house with a duster or vacuum in one hand and the book in the other, as I could not put it down. (SPOILER ALERT! I also highly recommend having a tissue box nearby.)
Someone in Hollywood was also inspired, and in 2005, Julianne Moore starred in the movie of the same name. As soon as the movie came out on DVD, I bought it. I watched the extras and saw that Dortha Schaefer was still alive, living in Payne, OH, and writing for The Paulding Country Progress. I wrote to her in the paper, and she wrote back!
I eventually met Dortha, the remaining Affadaisies’ members, and even became an honorary Affadaisy for a day. I was also lucky enough to interview all of them for my book and blog about them. The Affadaisies.
Sadly, Evelyn, the book’s heroine, and her daughter, the author, Terry Ryan, had passed, and I did not meet either of them. (My last visit with The Affadaisies was in 2010; now they are all gone.)
This is not your regular book review, as I want you to run to your local bookstore or library and get it. And, only after you have read the book do I want you to see the movie.
I hope you enjoy the book and movie as much as I do.
Have you ever read it?
I have the DVD and it has been posted all around NZ to various comping friends. I got it through Amazon and I am pretty sure there are only a couple of copies in the whole of New Zealand haha.
I have the subnic “the prizewinner of Auckand , New Zealand” under my name at a board I administer. Funny thing is it is a board that has nothing to do with comping or sweeps. One of the other admins just put it up there under my name anyway lol.
I loved the movie and think J Moore did a great job of portraying the story and the person – it was good and very inspiring…
Hi Carolyn,
good to see that someone is still promoting the book and movie. I had the rare pleasure of being an on-line pen pal with Terry the author, and talked to her and her sister Betsy on the phone once while they were filming the movie in the Toronto area. For anyone that is interested, there is a IMDB discussion board at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0406158/board/threads/
Just an interesting tidbit that Terry told me once, the part of Evelyn was offered to Renee Zellweger, but she turned it down because she felt she wasn’t old enough to be the mother of so many children…….
Cathy from Alberta :O)
Wow, I just finished reading it (in one day) upon your recommendation. What a sad story. What that poor family had to go through because of the father… Ugggh!
I just realized that Suze Orman wrote the foreword. I love her too!