The Many Lives of Mama Love (Oprah's Book Club): A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing
Now including a new bonus chapter!
“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.
“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.
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Community Reviews
When I first chose this book, I didn't realize it was a memoir. This book was hard to read at times, being a mother, I can't imagine how I would've lived through any of this. This is a story that definitely empowers women and will help you realize that your life could be much worse than it is. It has taught me to be grateful for many things in life. I chose this book for the Goodreads Community Favorites Challenge. I devoured this book and couldn't put it down. I needed to know how it ended as soon as possible and I'm so glad I kept reading through all of the heart-pulling emotions. Congratulations to Lara for her hardwork, in life and in this book. Thank you, Book of the Month Club, for suggesting this one to me.
This is a very interesting memoir of a suburban soccer mom who got addicted to prescription pain meds and then heroin. She eventually stole from her neighbors and friends to finance her habit. Her deeds caught up with her and she was arrested in front of the neighbors, went to jail, and almost lost custody of her children.
The book is about her struggle with addiction, incarceration, and shame. The sections about her life in jail are fascinating and I learned a lot about the difficulty of someone reentering society after serving time in jail. Most of all, it is about a mother's love, redemption, and how meaningful work is healing.
The author is a wonderful writer and has a talent. I just didn't feel that she told the whole truth of the crimes she committed, how much she took from the neighbours that it wasn't just trust broken, and her accountability. Her husband at the times was definitely bad news and a toxic influence but the author made it sound like she wanted to quit drugs except her husband would catch her weak and vulnerable. The first half still felt like a bit of victim mentality and less accountability. I definitely did get emotional in the middle but I felt the change in narrative for the second half of the book as the author was proud of her new life (and had a right to be). I feel like the author would probably give motivational TED talks but her memoirs fails to inspire me.
A powerful, gripping memoir of redemption and resilience. Mixed with raw honesty and dark humor, it sheds light on addiction, the justice system, and second chances. Heartbreaking yet hopeful, this book is a testament to the power of transformation and the human spirit.
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