Lara Love HardinRezensionen

Lara Love Hardin does an excellent job of making you feel the claustrophobia of jail, the despair of drug-abuse, and the fear of losing children. She also brings the problems of the incarcerated and probationers to light. Great upbeat ending.

Nobody writes about female friendships better than Robyn Carr and her latest novel, The Friendship Club, is a perfect example.

Marni hosts a successful cooking show on television. Like Ina Garten ( The Barefoot Contessa), the show is filmed in her own home, where she is ably assisted by Ellen, who has been with her for twenty years. Ellen is creative with food but has no desire to appear on camera, she is happy to leave that to Marni.

Sophia is interning with Marni and hopes to have a career in broadcast journalism. Marni's daughter Bella is anxiously awaiting the birth of her first child with her husband Jason.

Although Marni has very successful career, her love life could use some work. She was widowed at a young age and now is divorced from her second husband after she caught him cheating on her. Ellen was a longtime caregiver for her seriously ill husband and is wary about getting into a new relationship.

Sophia is excited about a new man in her life, but soon discovers that he is possessive and potentially dangerous. Marni had experience with that with her first husband and begins to worry about Sophia. Bella has concerns about her own marriage as well.

As the story progresses, Marni finds herself unexpectedly attracted to a new man in her life and Ellen's retired firefighter neighbor would like to start a romance with her. Marni jumps in with both feet and encourages Ellen not to let her past get in the way of a possible happy future.

I liked that we see relationships at all stages and ages- young Sophia, Bella and her husband as they await the birth of a baby, and Marni and Ellen in the 60s opening up their hearts to new possibilities.

Robyn Carr's characters are always so interesting, and seeing older women excited about new romance is enjoyable and refreshing to read. And no matter how long ago you went through a pregnancy, you can relate to Bella's situation. Carr's male characters are well drawn and realistic too.

I enjoy foodie books, and reading about Marni and Ellen's recipes and Ellen's volunteer work feeding people fleeing wildfires was fascinating. The Friendship Club is a wonderful book to gift to your girlfriends on Galentine's Day, I highly recommend it.

Thanks to Harlequin Books for putting me on their Winter 2024 Blog Tours.

Lara is an excellent writer in this very personal memoir about her life of crime and addiction. I like her style so much that I bought her ghostwritten book about the man jailed unrightfully for 39 years.½

Compelling memoir of someone who made it out of addiction.

Wow. Lara is a typical "soccer mom," but she is also a drug addict, stealing credit cards and other items from her neighbors to support her, and her husband's, drug habit. She gets caught and goes to jail, and eventually prison. Somehow, despite the shortcomings and prejudices of the criminal justice system, she eventually turns her life around after her release. With, I might add, the help of supportive people around her, and eventually her own strength.
How many other women (and to a lesser degree, men) haven't been unable to crawl back into society after committing a crime?

[3.75] As a member of a family that was ravaged by the drug addiction in the late 60s and 70s, I found Hardin’s book to be both heart-wrenching and enlightening. It underscores the reality that we cannot cling to stereotypes that often shape society’s perception of drug addicts. I agree with some reviews that suggest the narrative drags a bit in spots – especially in the first third of the book. But the author’s remarkable story is dotted with life lessons and important insights about our criminal justice system – a system that purports to focus on reducing recidivism. “The system is cobbled together out of Catch-22s,” Hardin writes, adding that it is “illogical in its design, broken in its execution and guaranteed to fail those it allegedly serves.”

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.

In this book, Hardin recounts her descent from respected soccer mom to opioid addict, committing crimes to feed her habit. She discusses frankly how her addiction not only impacted her life, but the lives of her children. It is easy to judge Hardin for thinking her addiction was hidden from her family. Her addiction leaves her blind to the risk to her family as she commits crime after crime to feed her growing habit.

Eventually, Hardin is caught, and she goes to jail. It is in jail that this story becomes interesting, a story of strength and resilience. She shows strength in beating her addiction for herself and her children and resilience in jumping through all the loopholes put in place by an unsympathetic system once she is on probation.

In reading her story, one may think that if Hardin can succeed after jail time, any one can and those that don’t succeed are either lazy or born criminals. Hardin herself address that, making it clear that although she struggled, she had it easier than most. She is a well-educated with a talent for writing and a support system that helped her succeed. This in no way diminishes her many accomplishments. If only the other women she encountered in jail had a similar support system, perhaps more of them would succeed out in society like Hardin.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book is scheduled to be published on August 1, 2023.

This was such a personal, emotional and heartfelt book! The subject matter is sometimes difficult to read, but it is so worth it. Lara Love Hardin speaks honestly about the trials and tribulations she has gone through in her life, what led her to the bad decisions and what leads her to the good ones. This is a story about lifting yourself up and forgiving yourself for your past mistakes, no matter how bad they were. It is definitely worth a read.

Highly recommend.

5/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Lara Love Hardin for the opportunity to read and review this book.