Brooke and Patricia Sadler's new memoir, It's a Long Way to Florida, published July 8, 2026, recounts an extraordinary journey that began with a simple honeymoon road trip and evolved into a 20-year, 30,000-mile missionary odyssey across three continents. The book, which is available for purchase online via major book retailers, offers an unvarnished look at modern missionary life and the power of faith-driven decisions.
The story starts in 1957 with the couple's lakeside wedding in Michigan and a surprise wedding gift: a brand new red Falcon intended to carry them to their dream honeymoon in St. Petersburg, Florida. But as the subtitle suggests, divine interventions quickly redirected their path. Instead of heading to Florida, the Sadlers found themselves embarking on an epic adventure that took them to Sri Lanka and Pakistan, where they would spend decades serving communities in need.
Far from a romanticized travelogue, the memoir provides an honest and often humorous account of the challenges they faced. These include a harrowing 12,000-mile overland family road trip from London to Sri Lanka through military checkpoints, surviving national food famines and economic collapses, and navigating the complexities of cross-cultural ministry. The book includes real-life accounts of faith in action, such as how Brooke Sadler smuggled truckloads of flour past five armed military checkpoints during a government-declared famine to feed starving church workers in Colombo.
Another remarkable account involves the decades-long friendship Brooke forged with a local Buddhist High Priest, which ultimately saved their mission school's land from government seizure. The couple also opened their home to the world's most vulnerable, nursing abandoned and malnourished infants back to health. Through a legacy started by a poignant question from their young adopted daughter, Pami, the Sadlers eventually welcomed more than 80 orphaned children into their home and hearts over the years.
'We never could have mapped out the life we lived,' says co-author Brooke Sadler. 'Every time we faced an impossible logistical problem or a dangerous crisis, the answer arrived in a way we never could have engineered. We wrote this book to remind readers that when God redirects your route, the detour is very often the destination.'
Now mostly retired, Brooke and Patricia Sadler reside in Greeneville, Tennessee, where they transformed a historic log cabin into Nolichucky Cabins, a thriving mountain retreat and glass wedding chapel. They continue to serve their community and watch their expansive, global family flourish, surrounded by their children Kevin, Pami, and Astrid, and many grandchildren.
It's a Long Way to Florida is published by Brooke & Patricia Sadler and is available for purchase online via major book retailers. The memoir offers readers a practical template for living by faith rather than just talking about it, reminding us that a life guided by purpose, even when it diverges from our plans, can be richer and more meaningful than anything we could have imagined.
