The Many Lives of Mama Love: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing

Hardin criticizes the criminal justice system even though she credits it with saving her life. How does she reconcile this contradiction?

Hardin paints herself as an underdog, a disadvantaged woman down on her luck and faced with huge obstacles. In what ways is this portrayal true, and in what ways does this lack credibility?

How is Hardin advantaged over the other inmates in G Block and, later, in prison? How do these advantages help her in her journey?

Over a quarter of the way into the memoir, Hardin reveals that she was sober for six years before her relapse and eventual arrest. Why does the author wait to reveal this fact until after her arrest? What aspects of plot and characterization does this revelation alter?

Another famous prison memoir is Piper Kerman’s Orange Is the New Black (2011). How does that story compare and contrast with Hardin’s? What aspects do Hardin and Kerman share, and how do their experiences differ? What accounts for these differences?

Hardin comes from a different background than most of the other women in G Block. What unites them despite these differences, and why?

Kaden features prominently in the first half of the memoir. Once Hardin gets her position as a ghostwriter for Idea Architects, the narrative focuses on her career. Why does Hardin leave Kaden out of so much of her story? Use examples from the text in your response.

Hardin claims that addiction creates selfishness and self-obsession. What are some examples of this throughout the memoir? How does Hardin, a woman with so much love for others, reconcile this part of herself with the woman she wants to be?