Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Many Lives of Mama Love (Oprah's Book Club): A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing
    The Many Lives of Mama Love (Oprah's Book Club): A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing
    The Many Lives of Mama Love (Oprah's Book Club): A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Many Lives of Mama Love (Oprah's Book Club): A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing

    Written by Lara Love Hardin

    Narrated by Lara Love Hardin

    4.5/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    “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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateAug 1, 2023
    ISBN9781797164694
    Author

    Lara Love Hardin

    Lara Love Hardin is the COO and Editorial Director of Idea Architects, a creative book and media agency creating a wiser, healthier, more just world. She has an MFA in creative writing from UC Irvine and has collaborated on more than ten books, including the New York Times bestsellers The Sun Does Shine and Designing Your Life. She lives in Santa Cruz, California with her husband, two dogs, and six children.

    More audiobooks from Lara Love Hardin

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

    Related audiobooks

    Personal Memoirs For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      'Wellness' Is A Perfect Novel For Our Age, Its Profound Sadness Tempered With Humor

      Sep 20, 2023

      Nathan Hill's stunning new novel about the stories we tell about our lives and our loves, and how we sustain relationships throughout time, is both funny and heartbreaking, sometimes on the same page.

      3 min read

    • Article

      February’s BOOK CLUB

      Jan 5, 2023

      River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer (£18.99, HB, Headline) It’s Barbados 1834 and slavery has been abolished, but former slaves must work for another six years – for free! In an act of resistance, Rachel heads off through the Caribbean and South A

      4 min read

    • Article

      Home Before Dark

      Apr 2, 2020

      Home Before Dark
      1 min read

    • Article

      Top 10 Books

      Jun 16, 2023

      Top 10 Books
      1 min read

    • Article

      EMMA & ELLIOT: IT’S OVER

      Feb 12, 2021

      EMMA & ELLIOT: IT’S OVER
      4 min read

    • Article

      Longer on Moon

      Sep 22, 2022

      Longer on Moon
      19 min read

    • Article

      Book Extract

      Jan 20, 2020

      My year off was also interesting, in that I didn’t feel any less loved, or cherished, or wanted. Why? Because my life is already rich with soulmates, and I got the chance to behold that. You don’t have to shag someone for them to be a soulmate. We do

      7 min read

    • Article

      Ashleigh Bryant Phillips

      Jun 10, 2020

      Ashleigh Bryant Phillips
      6 min read

    • Article

      Daring to Show My Dark Side

      Feb 12, 2024

      Daring to Show My Dark Side
      4 min read

    • Article

      Not That Story

      Oct 28, 2017

      Not That Story
      7 min read

    • Article

      TOWN & COUNTRY

      Jun 1, 2022

      TOWN & COUNTRY
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Hardest Heartbreak

      Aug 23, 2022

      It’s been 40 years since Catherine and I started out as young actresses at drama school. Sharing the same silly sense of humour, we had so much fun, always trying to outdo each other with the next prank. Once, I sellotaped over the eyes of her mask,

      5 min read

    • Article

      No Apologies: On Writing About My Mother’s Life

      Mar 15, 2021

      I am halfway through a first draft. On bad days, I long for the comforts of fiction: the anonymity, the deniability. The post No Apologies: On Writing About My Mother’s Life appeared first on The Millions.

      6 min read

    • Article

      Girls On The Playground

      Feb 18, 2021

      Girls On The Playground
      15 min read

    • Article

      Name A Song

      Oct 9, 2019

      Name A Song
      12 min read

    • Article

      Perfection

      Jun 9, 2020

      For years I could barely write a page. I thought I was becoming a virtuoso of smallness while the grief, which is wordless, occupied an ever-greater volume. My friend lived in the estates on the bad side of town. Let’s go to the forest, she said when

      9 min read

    Related categories

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

    4.5/5

    263 ratings16 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a powerful and beautifully told story about mistakes and redemption, addiction and redemption. The narration is heartfelt and provides insight into the protagonist's journey. The book describes how addiction can take over one's life and change them as a person. Overall, readers recommend this book as a must-read for its honesty and the way it explores the themes of family, forgiveness, and rebuilding relationships.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      I can't wait to add the physical copy to my library. This audio book was so powerful. Amazing!
    • 5/5
      This story, at first, was a bit hard to believe. I kept saying to myself how could all this happen to one person. Then I had to look it up to see if this was indeed a true story. With that said the writing was great and it was an easy read. I read it in two sitting. I am excited to read books she has co author! Would highly recommend!
    • 5/5
      Such an incredible story! It's hard to put down. Well written!
    • 5/5
      So much to learn from Lara Love’s experiences. Addiction is hard, don’t dismiss those that suffer from it. Genuinely so proud of Ms.Love and her story is absolutely incredibly inspiring
    • 5/5
      A truly amazing book! Written with bravery and honesty. Thank you for this.
    • 5/5
      The Many Lives of Mama Love is a compelling, addictive read!
    • 5/5
      i don’t know where to begin other than to say The Many Lives of Mama Love was a magnificent, true story about the ebbs & flows of LIFE - uniquely defined by our humanity and embodied through our individual lived experiences. what a rollercoaster of emotions i felt, and literally expressed through my yells and screams, as i listened to Mama Love share her story. i am one who doesn’t believe in coincidences…every good thing and not so good thing[s] were divinely manifested for her arrival, at just the time it was needed in her life. this book has changed me. i’ll read it again, and probably again & again as there is so much to glean from.
    • 5/5
      Amazing book!! It is one I automatically want to read again.
    • 5/5
      Just wow! Such a meaningful book of the struggles with addiction to going through all the different the county department systems. Why don’t county depts., talk to each other. Why is there a 2 hour wait to see your Probation Officer? Why the court judges?
    • 5/5
      This book is astonishing. The first few chapters had me absolutely angry, and I almost stopped listening. I am glad I kept going because the ending is an absolute redemption. Wow. How much a single person can change. It's a fabulous reminder that we are not our past... instead, we are who we choose to identify as, for some that is their past, for others its the hope of a new & never before lived life. It's possible!
    • 5/5
      Beautiful, honest , heartbreaking andheartwarming. An incredibly important book about substance use disorders, our terrible incarceration system. A triumph of human dignity and spirit
    • 4/5
      Very compelling story! This books has a wonderful flow to it. No lulls. Loved it!
    • 5/5
      This book grabbed me from the get go. An amazing story of addiction and redemption. Beautifully written with honesty, pathos, empathy & insight. Laura's narration is heartfelt and a window into her soul. You can't help but pull for her, incur disappointment when she backslides and then admire how she overcomes incredible obstacles to rebuild her life and relationships. I have recommended this book to several people as a must read!
    • 5/5
      I great book. She really describes how addiction can take over your entire life and change you as a person.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely fantastic. This is a powerful and beautifully told story about mistakes and redemption, family and forgiveness.
    • 5/5
      I loved Lara’s writing!
      Thank you! Enjoy her journey Everyone!