Written by Terry Ryan
Genre: Personal Essay
Published in April 2002
359 pages

How deep is our parents’ love? So far, many books and movies have been published dealing with parental love. Parental love is often considered to be very special. How my mother raised 10 kids on 25 words or less is a unique book covering parental love. In this article I want to introduce a book dealing with a mother who brought up her children by winning prizes through various contests.

How my mother raised 10 kids on 25 words or less is based on the true story of housewife Evelyn Ryan, who helped support her children by winning lots of contests while living in poverty after the Second World War. Terry Ryan, her sixth daughter, wrote her mother’s story. She supported six sons, four daughters and her alcoholic husband in a small city, Defiance, in Ohio. It is difficult for her to overcome poverty because women's lives were restricted at that time, but she taught her children to live with gusto and to be independent.

The only things she could do in that circumstance for her family was writing and participating in many contests. She had a talent for writing, and so she applied to as many contests as she could, such as naming contests for new products, and short descriptions in 25 words or less, and she won many prizes. These kinds of contests were very popular in the 1950’s and 1960’s. She applied for many events with her family members’ names and her assumed name. She was able to win a prize at many contests with her talent and constant effort. She won household products like a TV, a radio, soap and other useful things such as shoes, watches, food gift cards, and even money! When her family got in financial difficulties, she used to sell the prize products and buy some food to make a living with the money.

Although the family was poor, Evelyn never neglected raising her children. When her son had a problem, they solved it together and she gave attention to him to avoid him going astray. She also encouraged her children to have hope. When her sons and daughters wanted to enter universities, she sent letters asking for scholarships to each university. Evelyn gave her children a sense of pride. She was a hopeful, positive, and strong mother who never gave up. Furthermore, she tried to teach her children the attitude of not to give up and always said, “You must keep your hopes and maintain your self-respect even in times of difficulty.”

The message in the book is that a mother's love is endless. Parents’ Day in Korea is on May 8. We are usually unaware of our parents’ love and take them for granted. However, on Parents’ Day you can show your appreciation and love to your parents. How about writing letters filled with love to them after reading this book?