Aptos is a beautiful little town in California, perched at the north end of Monterey Bay near Santa Cruz. It is the type of place that feels picture perfect, where nothing bad can happen. It is also the setting of Hardin's memoir where, surprise surprise, a lot did go wrong.

The Many Lives of Mama Love is a lot rolled into one book. A raw, not holding anything back account of Hardin's addiction, crimes committed to fund that addiction, and an Orange is the New Black like narrative of her time in county jail. Hardin is brutally honest and tells the story in a way that finds humor in her tragic downfall. It's also a redemption tale, and the post-jailtime highs reflect lots of hard work, withdrawal, self-discovery and ultimately self-acceptance. Hardin's ghostwriting / publishing career speaks for itself. Oprah!

I appreciated that Hardin recognized that while she had it hard (county jail is no picnic, probation requirements a maze of contradictions), she acknowledged that as an educated white woman she had it much easier than her women of color counterparts, both during her time in jail and after she was released. She skewers the system and its arcane rules. The inherent recidivism.

Coincidentally I was staying in Aptos for the few days during which I read Hardin's memoir. Watching the ocean waves and strangers on the beach really makes you wonder what stories people are walking around with. Being in Aptos made the story resonate that much more.

My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC. The Many Lives of Mama Love will be published in August 2023.

What a remarkable memoir! Lara Love Hardin takes us from her successful, enriched life into the world of drug abuse and thus into the justice system and the penal system, and most definitely the confounding system in place to keep those 'undesirables' released from prison from influencing our world unnecessarily. The timing on this is keen, as the Menendez Brothers are in the news again because the sexual abuse perpetrated by their father was completely erased from their second trial.

This book certainly changed my opinion on several aspects of our legal punishment system, and my tendency to give the benefit of the doubt to the prosecution. The problem is how to 'fix' it. And in the meantime, the benefits of the doubts will be going to the side of the defense.

WOW!

All the feels.

This book is about trauma, substance abuse, hopes and dreams, motherhood, and redemption. Everyone's journey looks different.

This story is a gripping recount of the days traveled by a mother who wanted to give her children everything but made those ends meet by stealing her neighbors' identities. The consequences of addiction. The emptiness and suffering that addiction brings. Then her own fight to recovery.

This book stands out because not only is it a unique account, but it is filled with pedals of wisdom and she talks about power, breaking, and forgiveness in the most poetic sense.

Yet, this book stands with other books such as "Wild", poetic and tragic. Another book, "Maid" comes out of a horrible relationship and doing the best for your child. Last "Eat Pray Love" finding yourself again. All of which each author inspires you to follow your own dreams. Your dreams and what you love, will lead you to your truth.

This book pulled me right in. Lara’s story is one of growth. Fascinating and one of the best books I’ve read this year.

Holy Cow! FIVE BIG STARS!! I found it next to impossible to put my a kindle down while reading this book. But a girl’s gotta sleep! This book is a non fiction read about Lara Love Hardin and her incredible journey from life In a Suburban neighborhood to a Heroin addict who steals credit cards to fund the habit of both she and her husband to redemption as a ghostwriter. This story and its hard truths is as fascinating as any book that I have ever read. The ups and downs, the day to day “activities” of prison life, the children caught in the crossfire, the codependency of their marriage and how she fought to overcome it all.
I will carry this book with me for a very long time. I urge all to read it. I feel truly privileged to have been able to read and enjoy this book early. I will be purchasing the physical book the minute that it become available.

The Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin is an unflinching roller coaster ride of a story. It follows Lara's life as a soccer mom to four boys and we witness her descent into chaos as she is enveloped into a life of heroin addiction and crime.

Hardin speaks honestly of her experiences in jail and her dealings with the legal system. It is understandable that in this country there is such a high rate of recidivism. It is almost easier to return to jail then to claw your way back into society.

Hardin's writing style and storytelling ability is easy to read and just so engaging. Her story grips you from the first page as she shares her innermost thoughts with us, it is like sitting and talking with a friend. In fact, what you feel as you read her memoir is that this could easily be me or a friend or a family member.

What follows after the descent into chaos is so powerful...We get to witness Mama Love's rise as she comes into her own power as she begins a literary career and gains access into the company of the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Oprah.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. Thank you to Lara Love Hardin for sharing a glimpse into your life, this book was so impactful, and I am so grateful to you for sharing this with us.

The Many Lives of Mama Love is a beautifully written book about the horrors of addiction. As addicts we learn that addiction ends one of three ways- jails, institutions or death. In Lara's case, it was jail but it could have easily been one of the others. Lara had this seemingly great life that (to a normie) inexplicably ended up in addiction and while she knew that what she was doing was wrong, she couldn't stop. She had lost control. And that's the reality of addiction. Her time in jail allowed her to make the changes to turn her life around and she ended up being able to create a life truly worth living. Congratulations to Lara, not only on this book and her countless others, but most importantly on taking her life back.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster, NetGalley and the author for access to this ARC.

What a wild ride! I consider myself a pretty picky non-fiction reader but I was completely engrossed by this book. I thought the author did a good job of providing an honest look at her life before, during and after incarceration without trying to gloss it up to make herself look better - which I really appreciated. It certainly gave me new insights and things to think about in regards to the hurdles and hoops people have to jump through to re-enter society following a conviction, and it also kept a fairly hopeful tone which kept it from feeling too heavy. I highly recommend this one as it was both entertaining and thought-provoking!

A powerful story about family, resilience, and the atrocious unfairness of the American prison system. Lara Love Hardin is an inspirational narrator, and her fall from grace as a wealthy white soccer mom turned addict, subsequent prison sentence, and road to recovery are well-documented. I loved to see her journey towards developing compassion for herself and her dedicated championing of other addicts.

Hardin does an okay good job of acknowledging her privilege as a White woman in the prison system, and I supposed I understand the challenge of finding a balance between telling a personal story and acknowledging the current and historic injustices of the justice system against Black and Brown people when you yourself are White. However, it did make me a little uncomfortable how the other innmates Lara lives with become footnotes to her story, with little acknowledgment following her bailout by her mother-in-law (it in itself a massive privilege) of their struggles beyond a brief mention near the end of the book about how many of them are still incarcerated.

Thank you NetGalley and Laura Love Hardin for an ARC copy of The Many Lives of Mama Love!

I absolutely loved this book. I was hooked from page one! Each chapter was such a page turner. Lara’s story is amazing. I highly recommend this to everyone. This is a must read.

Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this book! I loved it so much. The story is breathe taking lots of raw emotional crazy stuff. And I am in awe that this author shared her life story like these. And just love it! Don’t wanna give any spoilers but this is a must read! I could not put the book down and finished it in three days! I will be buying the copy for sure on this one! And hope she writes more books she is my new fav author and person :)

Thank you, NetGalley, Simon Books, and Lara Love Hardin for an advanced reader copy!

5 stars! Lara's memoir is so full of hope, that individuals can be more than the "worst thing they've ever done." Her story is one of overcoming addiction, which so many people can resonate with. She doesn't hold back on the details of how her choices land her in jail because of drugs and theft, but also how her experience there completely reshapes her life. Lara does make it through her darkest times and uses her voice to help tell the stories of others. Now she is telling her story. I couldn't put it down!

My Rating: 5⭐️
Writing Style: 5⭐️
Plot/Story: 5⭐️

I’m not sure where to start with this book to be honest, I got to read this book via Net Galley before it officially comes out and I love it so much! I would be surprised if this doesn’t make top charts this year after it’s released, I will also be buying a hardcover copy of it because I really loved it that much. It’s a book of perseverance and injustice, a mother going through the justice system as a drug addict trying desperately to get her son and her life back on track and everything around and in between, from the many obstacles she has to overcome, finding housing, a job and transportation right after getting out of jail.

[Thank you @bookclubfavorites and @netgalley for the #gifted copy]

What a memoir! I read this book in 24 hours (thank you long commute into DC) and can’t stop thinking about it. Will this be a top memoir read for 2023? Yep!

As a mom, there are so many heartbreaking moments throughout this memoir, and I cannot imagine how Hardin and her children were feeling during her drug addiction and time in jail. I teared up several times. I loved that Hardin didn’t hold back on any details and shared everything with readers.

Also, I’m in awe of her hard work and journey to be an incredible author and business owner. And how did I not know she worked on The Book of Joy and co-authored The Sun Does Shine (a memoir everyone needs to read)!?!?

This is a tribute to redemption, forgiveness, and acceptance. And yet another testament to the injustices of the U.S. criminal justice system (that does not care about successful re-entry and relies of the unpaid labor of prisoners).

TLDR - read this!!

Lara Love Hardin has produced an incredible true story of her own drug induced fall from upper middle class soccer mom to the terrifying despair of incarceration as a thieving drug addict facing years in prison and the loss of her toddler. In jail, ‘Mama Love’ gains the confidence of other prisoners and encourages a more peaceful coexistence. Her determination to recover and reclaim her youngest child against monumental odds enforced by the legal system is ‘super hero’ worthy and her ultimate achievement of a job with a boss who gave her his full support and a husband who showed her honest love is real life dreams come true.

This book is a powerful reminder of what is possible if we block the powerful negativity of a world full of hateful critics, and learn to believe in ourselves with all of our flaws and strengths. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley for my honest review. This book is a powerful encouragement for everyone who thinks life is too hard and they are too flawed to succeed.

You know when you start a book and you know you could finish it in one sitting if you didn’t have such a busy day planned and you are just annoyed at everything you have to do that’s not reading this book? Well that was this book for me. As soon as I started it I was swept right in with Lara, invested in what was going to happen to her and her boys. This memoir was so raw and real and genuine and heartbreaking and redemptive. It was filled with hope and love and forgiveness. It was breathtaking and jaw dropping and beautiful all at the same time. Lara tells the story of her addiction , her time in jail up to her ghostwriting career and time spent with Desmond Tutu and the Dhali Llama. Like all of us as humans her life is messy, important and transcendent all at the same time. She said in the book she always dreamed of being a writer and having people feel something when they read her work. Mission accomplished. I just loved this book and I will be thinking about it and Mama Love for a long time!

If I was able to give past the 5 stars, I definitely would.
I can NOT find anything at all to criticize about this book. This is a MUST read memoir!
This book highlights the struggles of addiction, the helplessness of the punitive system and the hamster wheel of obstacles trying to get out; but also HOPE. Lara love Hardin's story is heart wrenching, taking us to her rock bottom with addiction, losing her son while incarcerated, the mental struggles of having her bad choices define her as a whole person. However, Lara Love Hardin's story is also filled with love and hope with the found determination of turning her life around; and so she does.
I will definitely be recommending this book.

This was a fascinating memoir about hitting rock bottom and fighting your way back to the top. Lara Love Hardin brings to light some of the major problems with the judicial system and highlights how challenging it can be for anyone to succeed after being incarcerated. I was pulled in from page one and found it fascinating to be a fly on the wall throughout her experiences. Her resiliency and determination against the odds are inspiring.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and #NetGalley for allowing me to read a pre-release of this memoir. My review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.

This book is truly one of the best books that I’ve read all year. It’s like Eat, Pray, Love meets Orange is the New Black.

From the moment we meet Lara, we’re introduced into a legal system that has failed her. While Lara is struggling with an addiction, she’s also fighting for custody of her three older boys, and admitting her struggles with addiction won’t get her any closer to her goal. Her life spirals as addiction takes over her life and one bad decision just piles on top of another. Before she knows it, she and her husband are being arrested in their family home, in front of their three year old for drugs and theft.

Lara is thrown into jail, or a nightmarish version of high school. There are rules, clicks, “popular” kids, teachers pets, etc. Lara learns the ropes and eventually finds her place in jail as “Mama Love.” Lara is the mother hen of G block who helps (mostly) young girls write letters to judges, offers advice, and just offers a bit of kindness to a room full of young girls who desperately need someone who believes in them. Lara highlights the poor living conditions of jail that are abusive and neglectful at best. She shares glimpses of stories of its inmates who were gang raped before coming to jail, manipulated by gangster boyfriends, and had little hope for a productive life. It was truly heartbreaking reading about these girls who really never had a fair chance in life and with a criminal record, probably never would.

This is just the beginning of Lara’s exposure of the judicial system. While Lara doesn’t place blame on their failed system directly, partially because she’s on her own spiritual journal of accepting herself and her crimes, it’s really eye opening to see all the ways the system fails young men and women and highlights the need for action.

Despite a seemingly upward battle once Lara is out of jail, she uses her strength, courage, and determination to become a better person. She regains custody of her son, finds a job, finds real friendships and relationships, and eventually finds herself in a life she could only dream of when she was sitting in jail detoxing from heroine.

Lara has a way of bringing you right into her story, like you’re witnessing it first hand. Her guilt, her love, her fear, her shame, her not, her pride, it’s all so palpable. By the end of the book I was just SO proud of her like I would a friend.

A riveting and fascinating account of the author, Lara Love Hardin, fall from wealthy soccer PTA mom to lying and stealing drug addict to a stint in jail to hard won success as a writer. I was hooked from the very first page and it kept my interest throughout although some of the descriptions were overly wordy at times. I had nothing but admiration for the author as she realized she had to turn her life around and get clean and back on track for her kids sake and was able to do so, although it was not an easy feat. A powerful and uplifting story!
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.