Lucy Venier changes careers and boyfriends as often as she changes her socks. Although gifted with wit and artistic talent, Lucy lacks focus. While she tries out careers from crime reporter to sleep-deprived law student, her offbeat life experiences fuel her insatiable desire to create. Unfortunately “starving artist” isn’t exactly a desirable job title, so Lucy hides her creativity under her business suit. As if figuring out her life isn’t hard enough, all of Lucy’s friends are getting married, but Lucy’s not sure if she’s capable of living happily ever after. With a string of loser former flames, giving up on love seems to be the best option. Until Ben—Lucy’s Mr. Right who comes at completely the wrong time. In the tradition of The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing, The Hard Way is a scrapbook of stories from Lucy’s life. As she discovers more about the people around her, will she finally begin to understand herself?