In their new memoir, It's a Long Way to Florida, authors Brooke and Patricia Sadler share the remarkable story of how a 1,200-mile honeymoon road trip turned into a 20-year, 30,000-mile missionary journey across three continents. The book, set to be released on July 8, 2026, offers an authentic account of how saying 'yes' to God redefined their lives, their family, and their understanding of purpose.
The story begins in 1957 with a simple lakeside wedding in Michigan and a brand new red Falcon, a surprise wedding gift intended to carry the newlyweds to their dream honeymoon in St. Petersburg, Florida. However, divine interventions quickly altered their path. Instead of the sandy beaches of the Sunshine State, the Sadlers found themselves stepping into the unknown, embarking on an epic adventure of faith that would span decades and take them across the globe to Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
It's a Long Way to Florida is far from a romanticized travelogue. It is an honest, gritty, and often humorous account of what modern missionary life actually looks like. From navigating a harrowing 12,000-mile overland family road trip from London to Sri Lanka through military checkpoints, to surviving national food famines and economic collapses, the Sadlers' story proves that the greatest rewards often lie within the most inconvenient detours.
Readers will be swept away by extraordinary, real-life accounts of faith in action, including miracles in the midst of crisis: how Brooke managed to illegally smuggle truckloads of flour past five armed military checkpoints during a government-declared famine to feed starving church workers in Colombo. The book also highlights breaking barriers, such as the profound, decades-long friendship Brooke forged with a local Buddhist High Priest, which ultimately saved their mission school's land from government seizure. Additionally, the couple's remarkable decision to open their doors to the world's most vulnerable, nursing abandoned and malnourished infants back to health, is chronicled. Through a legacy started by a poignant question from their young adopted daughter, Pami, the Sadlers ultimately 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.'
Today, having New Year plans that finally brought them back to the United States, Brooke and Pat are mostly retired and reside in Greeneville, Tennessee. True to their enduring entrepreneurial spirit, they transformed a historic log cabin into Nolichucky Cabins, a thriving mountain retreat and glass wedding chapel where they continue to serve their community and watch their expansive, global family flourish.
Perfect for fans of Christian memoirs, inspiring biography, and extraordinary travel narratives, It's a Long Way to Florida offers readers a practical, grounded template for what it means to live by faith rather than just talk about it. It is a powerful reminder that the life which unfolds when you follow where you are led, rather than where you intended, can be richer and more purposeful than anything you could plan on your own.
