Brooke and Patricia Sadler's new memoir, It's a Long Way to Florida, tells the story of how a 1,200-mile honeymoon road trip transformed into a 20-year, 30,000-mile missionary journey across three continents. The book, published by the authors and available now through major online retailers, offers an authentic and gripping account of how saying 'yes' to faith redefined their lives and purpose.
The narrative begins in 1957 with a simple lakeside wedding in Michigan and a surprise wedding gift: a new red Falcon intended to carry the newlyweds to their dream honeymoon in St. Petersburg, Florida. However, divine interventions quickly rerouted them. Instead of Florida's sandy beaches, the Sadlers found themselves embarking on an epic adventure that took them to Sri Lanka and Pakistan, spanning decades and encompassing a global mission.
It's a Long Way to Florida is not a romanticized travelogue but an honest, gritty, and often humorous account of modern missionary life. The book details harrowing experiences, including a 12,000-mile overland family road trip from London to Sri Lanka through military checkpoints, surviving national food famines, and economic collapses. The authors emphasize that the greatest rewards often lie within the most inconvenient detours.
The memoir includes extraordinary accounts of faith in action. One story describes how Brooke Sadler illegally smuggled truckloads of flour past five armed military checkpoints during a government-declared famine to feed starving church workers in Colombo. Another highlights 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's decision to open their home to vulnerable children led them to nurse abandoned and malnourished infants back to health, ultimately welcoming more than 80 orphaned children into their home over the years—a legacy sparked by a question from their young adopted daughter, Pami.
'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.'
Today, Brooke and Patricia Sadler are mostly retired and reside in Greeneville, Tennessee. True to their entrepreneurial spirit, they transformed a historic log cabin into Nolichucky Cabins, a mountain retreat and glass wedding chapel where they continue to serve their community and watch their expansive global family flourish.
For leaders in business and technology, the Sadlers' story offers insights into resilience, adaptability, and the power of purpose-driven decision-making. Their ability to navigate crises, build cross-cultural relationships, and scale humanitarian efforts provides a compelling example of how faith and strategic thinking can create lasting impact. The memoir serves as a reminder that the most meaningful journeys often begin with an unexpected detour.
