In their new memoir, It's a Long Way to Florida, authors Brooke and Patricia Sadler share the extraordinary story of how a simple honeymoon road trip turned into a two-decade missionary journey spanning three continents. The book, published by Brooke & Patricia Sadler and available through major online retailers, chronicles their unexpected detour from a planned 1,200-mile drive to St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1957 to a life of service in Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
The narrative begins with a lakeside wedding in Michigan and a surprise wedding gift: a brand new red Falcon intended to carry the newlyweds to their dream honeymoon. However, divine interventions quickly redirected their path. Instead of Florida's sandy beaches, the Sadlers found themselves embarking on an epic adventure of faith that would include a harrowing 12,000-mile overland family road trip from London to Sri Lanka, navigating military checkpoints and surviving national food famines and economic collapses.
The book offers an honest and often humorous account of modern missionary life. It includes stories of miracles in crisis, such as Brooke illegally smuggling truckloads of flour past five armed military checkpoints during a government-declared famine to feed starving church workers in Colombo. The couple also broke barriers by forging a decades-long friendship with a local Buddhist High Priest, which ultimately saved their mission school's land from government seizure. Their home became a sanctuary for the vulnerable, as they welcomed more than 80 orphaned children into their home after being prompted by a question from their young adopted daughter, Pami.
"We never could have mapped out the life we lived," said 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 in Greeneville, Tennessee, the Sadlers have transformed a historic log cabin into Nolichucky Cabins, a mountain retreat and glass wedding chapel where they continue to serve their community. It's a Long Way to Florida is perfect for fans of Christian memoirs, inspiring biography, and extraordinary travel narratives, offering a practical template for living by faith. It is a powerful reminder that following where you are led can lead to a richer and more purposeful life than any plan you could make on your own.
