A soccer mom turned addict

I liked this memoir about a rich soccer mom who has a secret opioid addiction, steals money from friends, and ends up in jail. The story flows just like a good novel. There’s a lot of dialogue, and I always flinch a bit when a writer uses dialogue and quotation marks a lot in a memoir—how could she possibly remember such detailed conversations from her past? The dialogue made the story richer and more dramatic, but it made the memoir lose a little credibility, too. It reminds me that I can’t believe everything I read. Conversations could not possibly have gone down exactly like she said.

I was pulled into this memoir from page 1. Before you know it, she’s in jail. Her four-year-old son is sent to live with relatives (though not blood relatives), but she’s freaked, of course. It looked like her prison sentence would be long and she would lose custody. I can’t believe it (because I know a lot about addiction), but I felt judgy! (I hang my head in shock and embarrassment!) I couldn’t stand that she had risked depriving a kid of his mom for what looked to be his whole life—and she had three other boys, too, who lived with their dad. What was she thinking to let herself get addicted? Ha, yes, I know that’s not how addiction works—of course she didn’t choose to take a risk that might end in her losing her sons, but still, I was miffed. I’m a mama bear when I come across a really bad mom; I want to protect the youngins.

But I forgave her as the story progressed. She became a hero of sorts in jail, helping other women write appeals and letters. Her husband was a doozy, and I liked how well she outlined their complex relationship. I don’t want to spoil the story, so I won’t tell you anything more. I’ll only say that she continued to be a hero in my eyes. She was so strong and persistent and patient.

A couple of things bugged me—things she left out. For instance, she didn’t talk about how rough it was to detox in jail. I would have thought she’d go into that because of how hard and major kicking an addiction is. Also, she doesn’t explain how she afforded things on the outside. I’m guessing she chose to leave these topics out, but I wanted to know about them.

The main gist of the story is about how messed up the jail story is in America, how once you get in the system, it’s nearly impossible to get out. Much food for thought. She gets her point across without being preachy, which I appreciate.

The story is riveting and so well told. The author is a writer by trade, and she has the chops for sure. I was sucked into her life completely and was rooting for her all the way. But—and this is weird—it’s been a few weeks since I finished reading this book, and I don’t have that glow-y feeling that happens when I think back on a good book. So I guess all that means is that it doesn’t fall into the Amazing Book category. But after my initial, short judgy period, I just loved reading the book, and that’s what counts.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

Expected publication date: August 1, 2023

I mistakingly thought this was a work of fiction, but no, this is really happening! Lara Love Hardin shares an important life story that needs to be heard.
Trying to be the perfect suburban mom was more than she could do. Heroin became her crutch, until it became her downfall. Jailed for over 30 counts of theft, she lived in fear of losing her 4 year old son to the system. For him, she would do anything, including get clean. But the jail system and a self absorbed spouse would not make that easy.
The Many Lives of Mama Love addresses addiction, recidivism, second chances and “real power .
I stayed up way too late to finish this book. You will too! Will be a fabulous book club choice.

My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster fir tge ARC of this book

I was hooked from the beginning. Laura tells her story of addiction and dysfunctional love and the spiraling down from barely hanging on to rock bottom in this memoir. Laura is on her 2nd marriage and has a child with her second husband when she and him are arrested for drugs and stealing identities via her neighbor's mail and using their credit card. It's a bad offense for sure but she more than pays the price with how the justice system is set up. And even though you might feel bad for her and there are times where she does paint a picture where you can't help but feel bad for her she isn't blaming anyone for her choices and truly makes amends and turns her life around. The last quarter of it felt a little distant, like maybe she was rushed in writing it which accounts for the 4 stars instead of 5 but I was cheering for her the entire way and am so happy she's such a great example of someone who screws up but redeems herself. We all need a second chance.

Such a moving memoir about Lara Love Hardin. This book grabs you right from the get go and throws you right into the chaos that is Lara's life. this book was the real nitty and gritty of the "justice system" and the hoops you must jump through to be acceptable as a functioning member of society and deemed worthy again. I loved the way Lara described her decent and then journey to recovery.
This book wasn't so much an eye opener for me as others, as i have faced the justice system, the probation officers, and the battles. It felt like an old friend recounting an incredible journey we've both been on.
I strongly recommend this memoir as its gripping, intense, fun, and full of hope.

Thank you Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for an ARC.

Sometimes a memoir grabs you by the throat and doesn't let you go. The Many Lives of Mama Love is one such memoir. At one point, I had to stop, catch my breath, and go back to the publisher's blurb which assured me that Lara Love Hardin's life would turn out OK - that's how perilous her life became as a "suburban mom heroin addict who was sent to jail for identity theft." I have absolutely no judgement about Love Hardin's life choices and only praise and awe for the way in which she dug herself out of an unimaginable hole to share her story, help women who find themselves at the mercy of the dual hell that is addiction and imprisonment, and lead a healthy and fulfilling life. To say more would be to detract from the roller coaster ride that is reading this memoir. Highly highly recommend (and Love Hardin hints at her next memoir and its topic - her long lost family - sign me up!). Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the privilege of an early read of this memoir.

This book is gut-wrenching, maddening and encouraging all at the same time. I had never really understood drug addiction, but I have a better grasp on it after reading this book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has a family member struggling with addictions, because it shows how the addiction can overwhelm your life very quickly and also what it takes to recover. Great book even if it did make me cry multiple times! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review.

In The Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin, Hardin explores her chaotic descent into substance abuse and criminal convictions and her attempts to claw her way back out to reclaim her family and life, revealing just how difficult it is for re-entry into an unforgiving society, regardless of how sincere people are in their path to recovery.

Hardin chronicles her remarkable life in a frank and compelling way revealing how she went from an upper-class life of comfort to a world of destructive substance abuse to that of later emerging as a writer able to bump shoulders and work with some of the most influential people in the world. In writing about her journey and sharing deeply personal details, she never crosses the line from being openly heartfelt to becoming luridly candid for mere reader titillation.

Her journey tells the story of resilience and struggles within an unsympathetic system where it seems the best way to avoid doing one’s job and helping others is by telling those in need, “It’s not my problem.”

Many readers, just like this one, will most likely be more frustrated regarding the endless hoops she must jump through in her genuine attempts to put her past behind her, rather than being troubled by her committed offenses and substance abuse. Not only that, in reading her book and of her life, she is open and honest about how her obstacles were nothing in comparison to those of the uneducated and without a safety net, and people of color when attempting the same things.
The book is also a treatise on how people that have made mistakes, sometimes many mistakes, are blocked from re-entry into society while navigating the obstacles of a callous and Byzantine bureaucratic world that quite effectively dooms one right from the start.

Hardin’s recounting in the book is not necessarily a sad story filled with little hope, but instead, a book that shines a light on the unwillingness of people like Hardin to not give up, no matter how daunting the road before them seems to be.

The Many Lives of Mama Love is highly recommended to those that enjoy biographies of people that have excelled after facing seriously troubling times and is set to be published on August 1, 2023, by Simon and Shuster.
Netgalley provided an ARC upon the promise of a fair review.

The Many Lives of Mama Love ranks in my best books of the year if not the best! Lara Love is living in the tony suburbs in Northern California. She has four kids, a husband, a nice home, and a heroin addiction. She steals from her neighbors and moms in the carpool lane to pay for drugs for herself and her husband. Just when her house is about to be foreclosed on, she is arrested and sent to jail. Though she loses everything, her memoir is poignant and funny. Her tales about the prison and probation systems are eye opening. Her battle to get back her life after she is released is perhaps the best part of the book. The author also wrote The Sun Does Shine with Anthony Ray Hinton, an innocent man who spent many years on death row. Both of these books present amazing stories, strong writing, and hope for the future. I loved it and strongly recommend it. I thank NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read this ARC

Thank you @netgalley and @simonbooks @simonandschuster for this advance copy.
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I wanted to get my hands on this book as soon as I read the synopsis about a soccer mom turned opiate addict turned “jailhouse shot caller” turned successful ghostwriter (most famously Oprah’s Book Club pick The Sun Does Shine with Anthony Ray Hinton). It was difficult to read the first half of the book as the author so honestly told her story of self destruction through a cycle of addiction and its consequences. Seeing her transformation by the end of the book was mind blowing. What a strong, resilient woman with an impressive story of overcoming the odds.
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The Many Lives of Mama Love publishes August 1st.
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#simonbooks

The Many Lives of Mama Love grabbed me from the beginning pages. As someone who is familiar with the criminal justice system, much of Mama Love’s story resonated with me. I appreciated her candor and how she incorporated others’ lives in her journey. Additionally, I appreciated her journey, because it inspired and created hope. I particularly like how she mentioned gardening and Blaine. In some ways, I believe it was parallel to life…planting seeds, tebding to them and watching them grow. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I’m extremely happy for this author and her success. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an advanced copy.

A compelling story of a mother, wife, daughter who is embroiled in her addiction loving for her next high. The author tells her story of heartache, pain, loneliness, and despair in detailed prose. We walk the halls of jail with her cheering her on all the way. She learns how to fight for her children and work the system while keeping her demons at bay. Even after the justice system treats her so horribly she doesn’t fight back. She embraces her reality and finds a passion on writing. She heals her family and herself in the process. A beautiful testament to her Mama Love.

I LOVED this book and will be encouraging others to read it upon release - have already left a glowing recommendation on Instagram. While it carries a heavy topic, the writing is light, like you're sitting in a living room talking to a friend over coffee. There is a good balance of the struggle and challenges, with hope and humor. and YES i need a second book about the surprise family mentioned in the acknowledgments!

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

REVIEW TO FOLLOW.

The many lives of Mama Love
By Lara Love Hardin
I receive this ebook I. Exchange for a honest review!
This book is Startling memoir of how a typical suburban mom fell into the life of addiction, theft to feed her and her husbands addiction that them landed her in jail. This was a good book, that focused on how life’s circumstances can upend lives, which is exactly what happened to Lara love aka mama love. It was sad in that the children suffered without their mom and the author just kept getting pushed into that life. Ot is also a reminder with hard work and dedication you can achieve your dreams. And for mama love she was working to get back to bed babies. It was very well-written and captured my attention from start to finish.

Riveting non-fiction account of how a typical suburban mom fell into addiction an ended up in jail. This was an excellent book. It was very well-written and captured my attention from the start. I’ve already recommended it to a few friends.

This is one of those stories that is just hard to believe it’s real. Like, are we sure this isn’t some outlandish Lifetime movie where anything and EVERYTHING goes wrong for the person? The answer is no. This is Hardin’s real life, and like a train wreck, I couldn’t look away.

A suburban mom to 4 boys, Hardin seemingly has it all. A housewife with a million dollar house on a cul-de-sac, she also has a drug habit and an identity theft problem. Arrested in front of her four-year-old son and sent to jail, she is eventually accused of 32 felonies.

This is the story of her fall…and her incredible rise from the bottom. Her story is about resiliency, courage, and forgiveness of herself. She goes from a jailhouse “shot caller” to ghostwriting for some pretty cool authors and having lunch with Oprah. In fact, she’s connected to a lot of amazing people - the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Bryan Stevenson, and Anthony Ray Hinton.

In addition to her own story, she also talks about the failures of our justice system and how hard we make it for people to re-enter society after convictions - important topics that need to be added to the conversation of rehabilitation.

While her story is sad and heartbreaking, it’s also hopeful and inspirational - and you won’t want to miss it! This one doesn’t publish until Aug 1, but the good news is it’ll give you a memoir to put on your tbr and look forward to!

I'm not sure this book breaks any new ground but it is definitely interesting and enjoyable. Some bits were a little glancing to me and I would I have liked more. I appreciated that Lara Love Hardin didn't go to far into the faith part of recovery. I also appreciated her acknowledgement of her privilege, even if her road was also difficult.

When you read about individuals landing in prison because of crimes they committed due to addiction, you think, oh that could never be me, but Lara Love shows you just how easy it can happen. Despite her love for her kids, especially her youngest, time and time again she succumbs to addiction and ends up sabotaging herself. This is an unflinching look at addiction and all that it does to a family as well as an education about the justice system and how it unfairly treats women and mothers.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc to review.

This book was so good! I think everyone can relate to feeling the shame of the worst thing we ever did and then trying to overcome that identity to grow and blossom into something more authentic. It also highlights that addiction can happen to anyone, the strength it takes to overcome it and the way our prison system is set up to fail. This book covers so much that is so important. I hope everyone will read it!

Great book - great writing - true story
The Many Lives of Mama Love is the author's story of a well to do suburban housewife living a wonderful life with her family until she and her husband's drug addiction leads her to steal credit cards and money from her neighbors to feed their habit. Her 3 sons from her first marriage are taken in by her first husband and his wife. Her toddler son is in the system, but thankfully is also taken in by the husband and wife. The book is not only about how addiction can take charge of your life, but also the how the prison system is so unfair. To be clear this is not an Orange is the New Black kind of story, this is about how Mama Love beat her addiction, helped other inmates,was finally released, but still had to face unfair obstacles to be able to get custody of her son, get a job, a place to live.
I will definitely be reading other books by this author.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC copy of this book