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

Hardin is accused of driving by Kaden’s daycare after being released from prison early, which violates her CPS probation. In court, the judge says he saw her walking to probation and knows the claim against her is false. He takes her out of drug court and into Family Preservation Court. Hardin learns that she must attend an outpatient program, which makes her angry. She must also meet with a private therapist. A judge sees her weekly to approve her progress or remand her. She is overwhelmed and miserable but stays clean.

To maintain her anonymity, she dyes her hair and takes the bus to her many appointments around town. By this point, she has lost her family’s trust, embodied in Dylan’s comment that “[t]rust is something you have to earn” (203).

DJ is released and finds Hardin on her last day of work release. Everyone has told Hardin to leave DJ, but when he appears, she feels relieved, and when he tells her that his mother will fund an apartment for them, she is happy. They make love, which Hardin says is an emotionless act. She admits her lack of love for DJ, but to DJ, she acts like a loving wife.