Lara Love Hardin is an American literary agent, author, prison reform advocate, and president of True Literary Agency. Her memoir, The Many Lives of Mama Love: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing (2023), is a 2024 Oprah's Book Club pick and a New York Times bestseller.[2]
Lara Love Hardin | |
|---|---|
| Born | Massaschusetts |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Alma mater | University of California, Santa Cruz (B.A.)[1] University of California, Irvine (MFA) |
| Children | 4 |
| Website | |
| www | |
In 2008, Love Hardin was arrested and charged with multiple counts of identity theft. At the time of her arrest, she was addicted to heroin. Love Hardin faced 27 years in prison. She entered into a plea deal which saw her spend ten months in county jail. At the time of her arrest, Love Hardin and her then-husband were described in The Santa Cruz Sentinel as "the neighbors from hell".[3] After her release from jail, she found a job at a literary agency.
Apart from her memoir, she is also a five-time New York Times bestselling collaborative writer, including the #1 New York Times bestseller Designing Your Life, and 2018 Oprah Book Club pick, The Sun Does Shine, which she co-authored with Anthony Ray Hinton about his 30 years as an innocent man on Alabama's death row. In 2019, she won a Christopher Award[4] for her work "affirming the highest values of the human spirit." Her work has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award[5] and short-listed for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.[6] Love Hardin is also the co-founder of The Gemma Project, an organization serving incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women.
References
edit- ^ Baine, Wallace (30 July 2023). "How Lara Love Hardin survived addiction, incarceration and shame to rebuild her life". Lookout Santa Cruz. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
- ^ Italie, Hillel (27 February 2024). "Lara Love Hardin's memoir 'The Many Lives of Mama Love' is Oprah Winfrey's new book club pick". AP News. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
- ^ Squires, Jennifer (5 March 2009). "Aptos "neighbors from hell" sentenced in massive ID theft case". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
- ^ "The Christophers Awards Press release". thechristophers. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
- ^ Lewis, Hilary (2019-02-13). "NAACP Image Awards: 'Black Panther' Tops Film Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
- ^ "Meet our 2019 Finalists and Judges". Mad Mimi. Retrieved 2024-11-07.