In Oprah’s 104th Book Club pick, The Many Lives of Mama Love, Lara Love Hardin writes boldly about her opiate addiction, her time in jail, her separation from her children, and her long road to recovery. But, as the memoir’s title would suggest, this author has lived many lives; she worked on a book with the Dalai Lama, befriended Desmond Tutu, and met Oprah long before Mama Love became a Book Club selection. If you want to know how she went from a jail inmate facing 32 felonies and up to 27 years in prison to a free woman and bestselling author, you’re going to have to read the book. But in this slideshow, you can take a sneak peek into Hardin’s world, getting to know the people, places, and moments she writes about. In these photos, you’ll meet Hardin’s son Kaden, who was just 3 years old (and adorable) when she was arrested, along with her three older boys: Dylan, Cody, and Ty. You will meet her partner and codefendant, D.J., and her “third-time’s-a-charm husband ” Sam (although that romance is another story altogether). Scroll through for a behind-the-scenes look at some of the most memorable moments in The Many Lives of Mama Love—thank goodness the cameras were ready when His Holiness the Dalai Lama styled Hardin’s hair!
This is the photo of me that ran on the front page of Santa Cruz Sentinel under the headline “‘Neighbor from Hell’ Sentenced in Massive ID Theft Case.” A guard gave me a copy of the paper while I was in jail, and I remember being so worried that everyone I knew—from the kids I coached in Little League to my sons’ friends’ parents to my business connections—would see this picture.
DJ and me with Kaden shortly after our release from jail. I never wanted to let my son go again.
One of the pictures of my boys sent to me while I was in G block. I would stare at it every night.
Anthony Ray Hinton and me, the night before he got his Oprah call saying that The Sun Does Shine had been selected as a Book Club pick!
Mapping out The Sun Does Shine book.
Kaden’s preschool graduation shortly after I was out of jail.
Left: His Holiness the Dalai Lama fixing my hair. Right: Desmond Tutu. Center: Me, still a mess in need of a great spiritual leader to get me together!
Before my TEDx talk, where I finally told the secret I had been keeping for 11 years. I am terrified in this picture.
My first husband, Bryan, and me at 24 with our first baby, Dylan. So young and with no idea of all that was ahead!
Cody’s prom (post-jail) with Kaden at my side. I was so scared of seeing all the other parents, but I showed up anyway.
Doug Abrams and me taking our literary work very seriously!
My son Cody was my date for the NAACP Image Awards for The Sun Does Shine in 2019.
Pregnant with Cody, 1992.
My third husband, Sam, and me on our honeymoon in Mexico.
This is the picture from the scene in the book where Kaden goes out by himself with our dog after his crippling anxiety.
Dropping Kaden off at college, September 2023. So proud of both of us for making it here when it could have gone so differently!
Archbishop Tutu at dinner in India.
My four boys, Christmas 2023. They get bigger and older but are still my babies.
Cody’s high school graduation with Dylan and Kaden. Apparently, I only had one dress, since I wore the same one to Ty’s graduation. I missed Dylan’s high school graduation because I was in jail. I vowed never to miss one again.
I bought a home for the first time in 2019, a place of love and light and nature. I finally had room to have all the boys and their friends together.
At lunch with Oprah and Gayle, Doug Abrams, Anthony Ray Hinton (across from me), and his best friend, Lester Bailey (on the other side of Gayle). Champagne toasts after Hinton’s appearance on CBS Mornings. I was playing it cool but freaking out that I was lunching with Oprah. She didn’t know my secret or that the words she said to me during this lunch would end up in my book someday!
