The Road Home Pictures and words by Jennifer Kerrigan
The Road Home Pictures and words by Jennifer Kerrigan
Š Jennifer Kerrigan Photography
To Becca, Elaina, Melissa, Robert, Sebastian, Elijah and Maya. Thank you for letting me into your lives and giving me the privilege to tell a part of your story.
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Table of Contents Introduction 11 Part one: On The Open Road 13 Part two: Starting Over Together 45 About the author 89
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hen I set out to do a story on women truck drivers in 2016, I had no idea of the adventure I was about to encounter. It started with a website called “Real Women in Trucking,” that led to a a series of phone calls and eventually a gas station in Bensalem, PA where I met Becca Kennedy for the first time.
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We had spoken on the phone a few times, but in all honesty she was a stranger - a stranger who’s 16-wheeler I was jumping into. Our destination was unknown and I was equal parts excited and scared. By the end of the week it felt like I had known Becca my whole life, and her cab felt like home. We kept in touch, and when she decided to get off the road in June of 2017, she called to let me know. Not only was she ending her decade-long career in trucking, but she had just married into a polygamous family and moved to Salt Lake City, UT. I bought a plane ticket as soon as she told me the news and I set out to spend a long weekend with her and her new family. Every time I talk to or see Becca I know this project isn’t over. Her story is something I’m in for the long haul. These photos and this book are just snapshots of her life and of a bigger story that I am so grateful to be a part of. This is an introduction to a woman who continues to push boundary, gender-norms, and fight stereotypes every day of her life.
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Part one:
On the Open Road Becca Kennedy, 47, has had a decade-long career as a truck driver. She’s worked in the oil fields and as an over the road driver. Being an over the road truck driver is a lonely job, but she has her chihuahua Chloe to keep her company and a pink headset so she can talk with friends and family while driving. Becca’s three adult children, Dalton, 27, Cameron, 25, and Allison, 23, keep in touch with her on a daily basis while shes driving. She practically runs her household from the road. The mother of three has sacrificed a lot for her career, but if you ask her she’ll tell you it’s just what she does.
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Top: Becca types in the address for her next pick-up into her phone’s GPS. A load can take her anywhere in the United States, although she primarily works on the East Coast and in the South. Bottom: Becca greases her fifth wheel, a process which keeps her truck running smoothly, while waiting for a delivery. Right: Becca looks into a compact mirror before doing her make-up in her cab at a truck stop. 12
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Left: Becca looks through paperwork regarding her recent pick-up. Right: Trucks line up to get fuel at a Flying J truck stop off 1-95 in Massachusetts. 14
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Scenes from Mechanics Fall, Maine. 16
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Left: Becca’s Chihuahua Chloe waits for her to return from a dock office before picking up a load. Chloe has a lot of anxiety about being away from Becca. Right: Becca drops her trailer, detaching it from her cab, so that it can be loaded in a paper mill. 20
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Truck driving is a physically demanding job. it involves a lot of heavy-lifting and strength, and driving for hours at a time can be really taxing on a driver joints. Becca suffers from knee problems from the years she spent driving over the road. Being a woman makes her prone to other health issues as a driver, such as bladder inflections. 22
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Left: Becca points to photos of her family that she keeps in her visor. She is the single mother of three children, who she doesn’t see for months at a time because of her work schedule. Right: Becca accents all of her equipment in the truck in hot pink, which is her favorite color.
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Left: Becca talks with her close friend Elaina, also a truck driver, while on her way to her next pick-up. Right: Becca eats at a restaurant in a truck stop in Maine. 26
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Left: Becca communicates with other truck drivers over the CB Radio in her truck. Right: Inside the Baltimore-Harbor Tunnel in Maryland.
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Left: Becca pulls out spices to cook inside her cab. When she does cook, she makes southern-style meals that remind her of home. Right: Becca smokes an after-dinner cigarette in her cab and checks Facebook.
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Becca prides herself in always looking her best. She gets her nails done every few weeks and does her make-up and hair most mornings, even if she won’t see anyone that day.
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Some of the steps in Becca’s beauty routine.
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ecca decided to come off the road in June 2017 because of her problems with her knees and seeing at night.
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She started dating another truck driver who she had been friends with for a few years, and eventually married into his family as a third wife. Her new husband and his other two wives all worked in the trucking industry at some point. Polygamy wasn’t completely new to Becca at the time, but this was the first time she was marrying into a polygamous family. Becca and her sister wife Elaina were the first to come off the road. Their husband joined them shortly after they bought a home in Salt Lake City, UT.
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Part two:
Starting Over Together Becca met Robert Jiron in a polygamous Facebook group for truck drivers that she moderated. Robert was already married to a woman named Melissa, who he had been with for 12 years, but both were interested in being in a polygamous relationship. Their new home consisted of Robert, Melissa, Elaina, Becca and three of Robert’s kids, Sebastian, Elijah and Maya. Combined, Robert, Melissa, Elaina and Becca have 18 children. Becca said while not all of the children are “of her body,” they are all children of her heart.
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Becca didn’t have a job lined up when she got off the road, so she took the job of taking care of the house. In addition to running errands, buying groceries, cleaning and cooking, Becca would bring Elaina lunch at work. Having the day to herself was refreshing now that she was constantly surrounded by people. Of course, she always had Chloe and Elaina’s dog Bentley around to keep her company.
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Left: Becca drives the family pick-up truck to pick up Robert from a truck stop outside of Salt Lake City, UT. Robert was the last in the family to come off the road.
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Right: Becca and Robert embrace outside of his truck. At this point, they hadn’t seen each other since getting married.
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Becca helps Robert move his things out of his cab.
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Becca shows Robert around their new house in Salt Lake City, UT.
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Becca’s favorite thing about the new house was her king-sized bed. She was so used to sleeping on a twin sized bunk-bed in her truck that haven’t a mattress was a luxury. In polygamous families, typically the wives have bedroom and their husband spends different nights sleeping in each of their room. Becca’s family ran on a schedule so that there wouldn’t be any resentment between wives. However, things didn’t always go according to plan, which caused some issues. “Being in this lifestyle you have to give a lot,” Becca said. “You have to give a whole lot and it’s hard sometimes.”
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Before coming home, Robert stopped by Becca’s parents house in Georgia to pick up some boxes for her. Inside, they contained baby photos of her children, paintings they drew in primary school and family memorabilia.
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Left: Becca relaxes on a recliner in the living room with Bentley. Right: Becca brings lunch to her sisterwife Elaina at work. At this point, Elena was the only one who had found a full-time job and therefore was support the four-person family as well as Robert’s three kids who moved in with them. 58
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Top: Elaina and Robert talk after her day at work. Bottom: Elaina and Sebastian, Robert’s son, cuddle on the couch. Right: Everyone gathers in the living room for a family talk.
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Robert’s kids Maya and Elijah write apologies for misbehaving in the kitchen. 62
Elaina fixes a light bulb in the living room. 63
Left: Elijah looks up at his father while they lay on the floor in the living room. Right: (From left to right) Sebastian, Elijah and Maya watch television in the living room. Right page: Elaina and Maya “play fight� while Robert laughs at them from the floor. Elaina is the youngest wife and has a playful spirit when it comes to the kids.
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Becca, Elaina and the boys drove to a family friends house to pick up some furniture they were giving away. The friends they visited are also in a polygamous family.
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One of the reasons Robert, Becca, Elaina and Melissa moved to Salt Lake City was to be in a place where their lifestyle was more accepted. This was especially important for them because of the kids.
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Left: Becca watches from the doorway as the boys bring in the new furniture they picked up from their friends. Right: Maya watches her brothers carry in furniture from over the railing.
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Robert plays with Elaina’s dog Bentley, while on the couch with his first wife Melissa. 74
Sebastian asks his dad where he should put the new furniture they got from their friends. 75
Left: The family eat their first dinner together in the new house. Top: Elaina looks at photos of her and Robert on her phone. Bottom: Elaina sits on the steps to the basement and checks Facebook.
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Left page: Becca and the boys sit on the back porch before breakfast. Left: Melissa and Elaina tickle Maya on the floor of the kitchen. Right: Becca serves breakfast to the family.
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Left: Becca and Robert talk after breakfast. Right: Becca wraps her arms around Robert in the kitchen, while Melissa looks up photos of her kids to show them. 80
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Becca hugs her sister wife Elaina. Pictured is Becca’s engagement ring to Robert. At the time of this photo, she had not yet received a wedding band. 82
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hen Becca married into Robert's family she knew it might not work out. She also knew that regardless she would gain a lot from the experience.
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From the very beginning she said, “I’m learning to be a better person, giving unselfishly. Even if this marriage doesn’t work I’ll come out a better person.” In August of 2017, Becca left Robert, Elaina and Melissa and went back on the road. She still keeps in touch with Elaina, but not the rest of the family. The end of that marriage was a new beginning for Becca. She now lives in Uvalda, Georgia with her fiancé, daughter and soon to be father-in-law. She went back to being an over the road truck driver, but hopes to get a job in the field that will allow her to work closer to home.
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Jennifer Kerrigan is a Philadelphia based photojournalist and photo editor. She has worked for National Public Radio, The Intercept, The Philadelphia Inquirer and had her work published in Philadelphia Magazine, Billy Penn, PhillyVoice, Metro, the Huffington Post (UK) + more. For freelance inquiries, she can be reached at jkerriganphoto@gmail.com.
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