The Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin

The Many Lives of Mama Love

Subtitle: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing

Author: Lara Love Hardin

Genre: Memoir, Nonfiction

Publish Date: August 2023

Read: May 2025

Favorite Quote: Reading was my first addiction. When I tell people this today, they laugh and nod as if they understand, as if they too are part of a secret book-addict society whose greatest crime is staying up late, a flashlight under the covers, compulsively reading page after page.

Synopsis: Trying to be perfect in the eyes of others, Lara Love finds herself with a pill addiction. Six years clean, she’s getting arrested with her husband and her four-year-old is taken by CPS. As Love navigates the oppression and complexities of the legal system (I hesitate to use the word “justice” here), she strives to be the person she wants to be, let go of the addict who made mistakes, and create a safe and happy home for her children.

Why does this book beguile? Well, color me surprised. I thought The Many Lives of Mama Love was a novel until I got to chapter two. Another book I nabbed from my Mother-in-law, The Many Lives of Mama Love tells the author’s story of addiction, arrest, and redemption following jail time. It was a roller coaster of emotions, but the central theme was power. Power over oneself and how power is wielded to help or hurt us in different ways. The Many Lives of Mama Love is a reminder of the importance of processing and healing our trauma, not allowing ego and external approval to drive us, and surrounding ourselves with people who raise us, rather than bring us down.

Bookshop.Org Link*: The Many Lives of Mama Love: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing by Lara Love Hardin

Amazon.com Link* The Many Lives of Mama Love: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing by Lara Love Hardin

If you’re interested in this, read*: Educated by Tara Westover - Bookshop.Org / Amazon.com