A review by readswithnatalieb
The Many Lives of Mama Love: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing by Lara Love Hardin

5.0

 

Easily one of the best memoirs I’ve read in a long time. Hardin is a prime example of how someone can turn their life around and not letting one (or a lot) of bad decisions define you. 

 

Did Hardin hit rock bottom? Yes. Was she given more grace than most inmates are after they’re released? Most definitely. Now, with me saying that, I don’t want to belittle her post-jail experience. Needing to be in court, working at the jail, drug tests, meetings, etc, all with no job or car is an accomplishment of her own. By explaining everything she needed to do after she was released, it’s so clear why folks end up back in jail because our judicial system makes it really difficult to not have a probation violation. 

 

Hardin explains how she had it all, then she didn’t and takes you on a journey to fight for her life. To read about all the different paths she walked in life is astounding and heartbreaking all at the same time. 

 

I’ll never get all my thoughts out as I could write an essay on this one, but the main message I took away from this story is how messed up our judicial system is (I already knew this but it reinforced it). Hardin says something along the lines of “a one-year sentence might as well be a life sentence due to the check-in’s, paranoia, and shame.” It put a lot into perspective for me and I can’t stop thinking about it. 

 

Content warnings: addiction, drug abuse, drug use, suicidal thoughts, infidelity, toxic relationship, dementia, death