The Many Lives of Mama Love is Lara Love Hardin’s memoir of “lying, stealing, writing and healing”. In one of the first chapters, Lara recounts checking into a hotel with her youngest son by using a stolen credit card. Of course, her actions were wrong, but wow, the stress induced just reading this early scene! Lara and her husband were funding their heroin addiction through stolen credit cards and are eventually caught.

Lara is found guilty of committing 32 felonies. She spent a year in jail and upon her release, worked diligently to redeem herself, regain custody of her youngest son, and be the mother she wanted to be to all of her boys. She faced numerous obstacles with finances, some probation requirements, and her exes. Lara began working at a literary agency and despite making great strides, also had to battle her constant companion, shame, for her past behavior and resulting reputation through the neighborhood.

Today, Lara is a successful ghostwriter. I have read and enjoyed The Book of Joy and The Sun Does Shine, two excellent books she worked on. This memoir is only further proof she can write. I am a big believer in righting wrongs including paying consequences. That said, I also believe people can change when they truly want to, and work to. The Many Lives of Mama Love is the ultimate redemption story.

This book is such a beautiful story of trying... trying to overcome addiction, trying to keep a life together and trying to be a parent. The parts about her youngest son when she went to jail makes me want to claw back time. That sweet little boy being scared is a reminder how the affects of addiction on kids. Ugh it's so not fair. Really well written and I'm really grateful I got to read this memoir!

Never judge a book by its title--when I first saw this one I wondered what I was getting myself into. And then I couldn't put it down! Lara Love was a mom of 4 boys, living the dream life, but hiding a heroin habit, funded by stealing her neighbors' credit cards, among other things. She ends up in jail, convicted of 32 felonies. This is the story of her journey back to life on the outside. While she was able to successfully bank on her talent as a writer, nothing else was easy. This was probably the best memoir I've read in a long time. It's also a powerful statement on our criminal justice system and the lack of resources for convicted felons to return to society. You might find yourself judging her at times--I did--and it will also make you evaluate your own feelings. Her writing is so powerful! i can't recommend this one enough.

This memoir is a powerful account of Lara who is arrested in the midst of addiction and has her 3 year old removed from her custody. It follows her as she fights to get him back and details how challenging the system is and how the system is stacked against people.

As someone who works at a non profit that works with low income families- I have seen similar situations play out and see how hard it is to navigate the various requirements put in place. I was also raised by parents who struggled with addiction and at times this book was hard for me to read for those reasons.

Lara is an excellent writer and I was immediately engrossed in this book and couldn’t put it down! This is a story of redemption and is very inspiring. I can’t recommend this book enough if you like memoirs! I just wish there were some pictures in the book so I could imagine people accurately.

Thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

A podcaster I listen to, Sarah's Bookshelves Live, suggested this as a pairing with the upcoming The Connellys of County Down and to read this nonfiction first. Okay! Done! I might come back and add to this review after I've read the other book, but wanted to get out my thoughts on this book first so I didn't merge the books together. Follow that?

This book highlighted so many important points about our "justice" system without getting speechy or preachy. Specifically I liked how she discussed how the system is set up for people to fail. Once out on probation, Hardin had several contradicting requirements to meet in order to fulfill her probation as well as her Family Court requirements. This echoed a previous book I'd read about a woman trying to keep her family housed, fed, and schooled within the system and the precarious Jenga like structure it creates. I like that the book also very accurately shows how society does not let a person return once they've "paid their dues." Constantly checking the box that they've been convicted of a felony disqualifies them for so many things the rest of us take for granted. They can't get a job because of a felony, they can't get a home because they don't have a job, they can't get a job because they don't have a home, they can't get benefits because they have a felony, etc. What was not given the spotlight in this book, and I think was a bit remiss, was how often women are punished at a different level than men. Hardin was limited in many of her options because she wanted to get custody of her son. The end result of this was a dramatic difference in the post incarceration experience for her compared to her now ex-husband who was equally complicit in the crimes. Additionally, I do wish Hardin had spent a bit more time on her life prior to her complete downfall. It was hard to see the changes brought about by the drug abuse compared to her previous life. But I hope books like this help people become more understanding and accepting of those who have "done the time" and are ready to be contributing members of society.

This is Lara Love Hardin's life story, and she did have many lives, and many addictions. When she lost her youngest son when she was incarcerated, she was determined to do what ever she had to in order to get him back. There were people and the system that wanted her to fail, but she kept moving forward, fighting the addictions, and never quit trying.
This is her life, and all that she went through. The choices she made, the consequences she paid, and knowing it was all up to her. No one could change her or her life except for herself. It is her story of the struggles, the determination, the hope, setbacks, and coming to be who she is today. This is definitely a story worth reading.
I received an ARC from Simon & Schuster.

Orange is the New Black meets High Achiever in this addictive (pun intended) read! From page one, I couldn’t stop reading and absolutely fell in love with the author’s powerful and distinct voice! Don’t miss this one!

You can guess that this memoir has a happy ending by the fact she’s written it, but getting to the happy ending is a hard read. First because she keeps getting drawn back into the lure of heroin addiction after years clean in NA, but then because once she does her time and gets clean, the rules of probation make success almost impossible and also because people from her NA meeting and other kept telling neighbors and people that she didn’t know that she’d stolen credit card to pay for food since her money went to drug dealers. People’s prejudice around drug addiction is one of the many reasons it’s so hard to get clean and—the real trick—stay clean.

After getting out of jail she got a job as a ghostwriter, writing books that would attract the attention of Oprah Winfrey and hit the New York Times bestseller list. This is an important book about how ridiculous the drug war is and how our justice system makes it so difficult to get your life back together. Even jobs that don’t involve you handling money make you check off a box about your criminal past, making getting a decent-paying job (a job is a requirement of probation) difficult, not to mention you have to constantly show up to your parole officer’s office and take drug tests and you probably don’t have a car and how are you going to get away from the job you just tenuously got . . .

This is a great read, although not a fun one.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES AUGUST 1, 2023.

This was a very powerful and heartwarming memoir. I resonated alot with how lara grew up and how trauma shaped so much about f her life. I read this book very quickly and really enjoyed reading it.

WOW. Lara Love Hardin's story is truly unlike anything I've read before. This book opens with a bang and you know right away Lara did time in prison. The fact that her career is where it is now is astonishing and she illustrates how she made that happen here. I think most readers will tear through this and widely recommend!

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.

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 :)