Jenni Raney Edwards - 9 July

Advance Praise for Bumping Down Highways

you will laugh, you may even get a tear or two as you join Jenni on her RV adventures as a single woman crisscrossing our great country. Young or old, new or experienced RVer, there is something for everyone as Jenni grows in spirit and experience as she conquers America by RV. Certainly as a single person Jenni provides a great follow up to one of our school themes of Women You CAN & Should Drive Your RV! I am very proud to have been a part of her travels.

Chuck Urwiller, RV Driving School.com

Bumping Down Highways is a compelling story of an executive who traded her office for an RV yet continued her career without missing a beat and I couldnt put it down. I was inspired and envious at how she worked on corporate deals with Americas majestic vistas and most scenic locations as a backdrop. Edwards visually descriptive style helps the reader experience her day-to-day life in this inspiring ever-changing environment.

Bob Higley, CEO Upliftv

A POST HILL PRESS BOOK

ISBN: 978-1-64293-207-2

ISBN (eBook): 978-1-64293-208-9

Bumping Down Highways:

From Boardrooms to Back Roads in an RV

2019 by Jenni Raney Edwards

All Rights Reserved

Cover art by Tricia Principe, principedesign.com

Cover Photo credit to Nathan Deremer at Deremer Studios

Special thanks to the City of Jacksonville for the use of Huguenot Memorial Park

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author and publisher.

Post Hill Press

New York Nashville

posthillpress.com

Published in the United States of America

I climbed the corporate ladder and found success at every turn. I was chasing the traditional American Dream. I loved to travel (the five-star hotel and dining kind that you got to by airplane), and I had it allexcept time for me and my family.

I saw dear friends die too young from cancer and co-workers die from heart attacks. To be honest, I was miserable in my job. It was the challenge of accomplishing something and helping other people that I really loved. Perhaps I got the definition of success all wrong.

When I was forced to temporarily leave my pretty beach condo, I needed a place to stay with my dogs, so I took a road trip from Florida to Oregon in my SUV. Carrying only the barest of necessities, I took my time, following detours. I fell in love with the road and simple lifestyle. I decided I was going to live my life now ! I had no experience with RV life, but I jumped in with both feet. When I say no experience, I mean zip, zilch, nada, zero, none! Still, I decided to trade boardrooms for back roads and hit the road in an RV by myself. People thought I was crazy. Many said I couldnt do it or shouldnt do it. I have bumped down highways through forty-five states. Now I drive, and live in, a forty-foot motorhome, towing a car behind me, zigzagging across the country.

When people learn I am traveling the country alone in an RV, they think I am brave. That is about as far from the truth as you could get. The journey has been full of challenges and dangers. I am often scared, I just am not afraid to try. I made mistakes, learned lessons, and met amazing people along the way. I am here to tell you, no matter how crazy it may seem, you can do anything !

Life requires guts, courage, and vulnerability. I took it all one step further and did something even crazier. I had no experience writing a book, but I kept a journal along the way. Although I had no idea that people would be interested in my fears, triumphs, and raw emotions, after so many asked, I turned my journal into the story you are about to read. I hope that in these pages, you find the faith and courage to re-evaluate your definition of success, and that perhaps you will find the inspiration to do something you have only dreamed of!

Im Jenni, and Im a real person.

I climbed the corporate ladder at a large publicly traded company. Or maybe I snuck up the ladder, because it was rare that women had high-level positions. More hours, more travel, more money. I had the things I thought represented success. I had the big house, the Lexus convertible, the forty-seven little black dresses, the designer handbags and shoes. I rented a house on the beach for our annual vacation. I never stopped working. I was constantly on the phone, reading and responding to emails while the kids were on the beach. I chose the beach house because it had Wi-Fi, a printer, a fax machine, and was close enough to home in case I needed to go to the office. My job was demanding, and it was hard for me to find time for family and friends. I would apologize for missing this or that, claiming, I am just so busy. I told myself I was working this hard to make life easier for my children.

I led a glamorous lifeor so it appeared. I traveled so much that I flew first class at coach prices. I took weekend trips with my best friend, flying first class on my miles. We stayed at five-star hotels on points. I valet parked everywhere I could. I ate at expensive restaurants, usually tipping 50 percent or more. I paid more for clothes and shoes in small stores because I was too busy to shop. I realized that I was working eighty to a hundred hours a week to pay for stuff . My job was no longer enjoyable. I had polished my identity and felt like such a fraud. I just didnt see a way out.

At any given moment, you have the power to say this is not how the story is going to end. Are you enjoying life? Doing the things you enjoy on a regular basis? I wasnt. I worked a lot, slept little, and spent time with family and friends even less. I sold my house at the beach and bought a tiny condo even closer to the beach.

I decided to write down some goals. The most important were spending more time with family and friends and traveling to places I had never been. And then I went back to work. Until a few weeks later, I came home from a trip to find that water had been pouring into my new beach condo. One call to the developer, and they said they would fix it. It was very bad. So bad that living there was impossible. My insurance company would pay for a hotel or a short stay somewhere. However, no one wanted to accept my big dog, Saint. Where could I go? What could I do?

I thought of the saying, If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. I woke up one morning, made a cup of coffee, and went outside to sit with my dog and my Bible. As I was praying, I felt like someone was there. I looked up at the chair on my left. I didnt see anyone, but I knew God was sitting there with me. I cant explain how I knew, but I knew. The words I heard were not out loud, but I heard them as if they were.

I am here.

It was the most amazing experience I have ever had in my life. Thinking about it, I knew I couldnt tell anyone. Surely, they would think I had gone crazy due to stress or that I just dreamt it. I sat in the sun and thought, Wow! God took the time to sit with me. Wow! Eventually, I told my sister-in-law, knowing she wouldnt judge me and would give me her honest opinion. Until now, I have told very few people about my experience that day.