The Many Lives of Mama Love (Oprah's Book Club)

A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing

By: Lara Love Hardin

Narrated by: Lara Love Hardin

Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

“Once you start reading, be prepared, because you won’t want to stop.”—Oprah Winfrey

OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • New York Times bestselling author Lara Love Hardin recounts her slide from soccer mom to opioid addict to jailhouse shot caller and her unlikely comeback as a highly successful ghostwriter in this harrowing, hilarious, no-holds-barred memoir.

No one expects the police to knock on the door of the million-dollar two-story home of the perfect cul-de-sac housewife. But soccer mom Lara Love Hardin has been hiding a shady secret: she is funding her heroin addiction by stealing her neighbors’ credit cards.

Lara is convicted of thirty-two felonies and becomes inmate S32179. She finds that jail is a class system with a power structure that is somewhere between an adolescent sleepover party and Lord of the Flies. Furniture is made from tampon boxes, and Snickers bars are currency. But Lara quickly learns the rules and brings love and healing to her fellow inmates as she climbs the social ladder and acquires the nickname “Mama Love,” showing that jailhouse politics aren’t that different from the PTA meetings she used to attend.

When she’s released, she reinvents herself as a ghostwriter. Now, she’s legally co-opting other people’s identities and getting to meet Oprah, meditate with the Dalai Lama, and have dinner with Archbishop Desmond Tutu. But the shadow of her past follows her. Shame is a poison worse than heroin—there is no way to detox. Lara must learn how to forgive herself and others, navigate life as a felon on probation, and prove to herself that she is more good than bad, among other essential lessons.

The Many Lives of Mama Love is a heartbreaking and tender journey from shame to redemption, despite a system that makes it almost impossible for us to move beyond the worst thing we have ever done.

Lara Love Hardin is a literary agent, author, and president of True Literary. Prior to founding True Literary, she was the co-CEO of Idea Architects. She has an MFA in creative writing and is a five-time New York Times bestselling collaborative writer, including the #1 bestseller Designing Your Life and the 2018 Oprah’s Book Club pick The Sun Does Shine, which she coauthored with Anthony Ray Hinton. She lives in La Selva Beach, California.

©2023 Lara Love Hardin (P)2023 Simon & Schuster Audio

Well written and great story

Lara writes beautifully and her story sucks you in immediately. The truth of it all is utterly engaging and made more so by the fact that she narrates it herself. Very worth the read.

Love this Mama

What an incredibly heart breaking, eye-opening and triumphant tale for one woman’s struggle with addiction, the US’s broken legal system, and overcoming her own worst inner critic. You will laugh, cry, and feel the anger of injustice for those caught up in this vicious cycle. You will root Mama Love on as she becomes her own best, amazing self!

Wow

I cried almost all the way through this incredible book. Lara shares her story with such excruciating honesty, vulnerability, humor and brilliance. The Sun Does Shine (a book for which she was the ghost writer) is one of my all time favorite books and so I was excited to read Lara’s own story. It is powerful and important to read about the failures of our “injustice” system from multiple perspectives and this one - from a highly educated, white, suburban soccer mom - will help open more people eyes. Thank you Lara for your courage!

Compelling, inspiring, heartbreaking, funny, truthful, and forgiving.

Loved the knowledge gained from reading about addiction and incarceration - and the motivation to leave these things behind and create an accomplished life. The raw nature in which this book was written gives great exposure to the real difficulties in overcoming these experiences. Really gives clarity to the statement ‘Be kind to people, you don’t know what they are going through’.

Amazing Story of Resilience

I love stories like this and Lara is so incredibly inspiring. From the literal rock bottom to the job of her dreams with her beautiful family, I am just in awe of all she’s accomplished. Officially a huge fan. Her writing is incredible and I felt like I was there every single moment. What a beautiful story of the power of a mother’s love.

Inspiring and Eye Opening Story

Again, it’s so hard to rate a memoir or nonfiction, because you’re essentially rating their lives. But Lara Loves story and her telling of that story is truly incredible. 🗝️

I picked this one as my BOTM but nonfictions mean so much to me when I get to hear the author tell their story with their own voice - audiobook is definitely the way to go with this one! 🎧

Book Review

The book and the writer were incredible. I was truly inspired by the story and her telling of it.

What an inspiring story!

Easy to follow, no fillers - all relevant content!! So interesting! Heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time!! Great reminder that we all mess up - it’s what you do after the mess up that matters!! As long as you take responsibility for your messes - which Mama Love definitely does!!

The Many Lives Of Moma Love

Great Story....Story of beating the odds, it can happen, usally it don't, but in her case it did. She does however give the groundwork to anyone willing to beat addiction on what and how to do it

Inspiring

A friend recommended this book. Wasn’t quite sure about it at first but it grabbed my attention from the first page. Couldn’t wait to get back to listening.