Most people in the world find themselves stuck in a loop. They wake up every morning, dress, and head off to work. Then, they devote eight or nine hours a day to a job they might not even necessarily like because they need a steady income to pay the bills. Sociologists and social commentators often refer to this phenomenon as the nine-to-five rat race, where people meander through life, existing instead of surviving. They forego their hobbies and personal interests and pursue a meager paycheck instead. It’s something everyone can relate to.
However, what happens when you’re a creative, headstrong person thrust into this world? You find yourself drained and frustrated by being limited to a job you don’t enjoy. Do you mask your true self behind a veil like a bride-to-be, or do you refrain from conforming to societal expectations? It’s often said, “A salary is what they pay you to forget your dreams,” and it’s something that makes you think. Has your job or profession taken over your life, preventing you from pursuing what you truly dreamed about?
Author Molly Hardy’s book I’ve Been Fired! (from Every Job I’ve ever had), contemplates an artist’s existence in the real world. Moreover, the always witty, often sardonic book is a fantastic memoir that details her experiences in various jobs over the years, including but not limited to being a secretary, executive assistant, salesperson, housekeeper, waitress, bartender, telephone operator, receptionist, and a retail clerk.
Each of Molly’s jobs had a few commonalities: she wasn’t great at them, her bosses recognized it, and she was promptly let go. But this memoir details that an inability to do such jobs isn’t the reason people are often fired from such positions. Instead, these people weren’t interested in these jobs in the first place. Molly, for instance, was only part of the rat race to support herself financially while she pursued her dreams of being a writer.
Writing can be a lucrative career, but a quick look at statistics and figures explains that most writers will never earn enough from their books to pursue their passion full-time. You could always become the next J.K. Rowling or Stephen King, but the world already has a few of those.
Fortunately, Molly’s story takes a happier turn. While her memoir encapsulates the struggle of being an artist in the real world, the good news is she has come a long way since then. After a successful sales career in the corporate world following a period of bouncing between the jobs mentioned above, Molly decided she wanted her life to have more meaning. Her epiphany made her realize that success and money meant little to her. As a result, she quit her job on her 30th birthday, got a VW van, and began traveling around the country, writing about her experiences in Travels of a Tragedy Queen. She found writing to be an inherent talent that gripped her interest and continued pushing on.
Today, Molly is a produced playwright, theatre director, and producer. She has produced and directed plays for the past 40 years nationwide, helming the production of several notable ones, such as Heaven’s North of Here, Encore, the musical Kitty Claws and the Magic of Dreaming, which renowned Broadway composer Larry Blank scored. She has toured nationally with her play that deals with teen suicide, taking it to high schools, colleges, the military, and probation camps, and worked with inner-city gang teens on a writing program she created called Life Matters, where they write and produce a play based on gang activity, foster care, etc., and create new possibilities for their lives.
Her memoir is available as a paperback and E-book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, ThriftBooks, and other major platforms. Her next book is a children’s story based on her play Kitty Claws and The Magic of Dreaming.
