In their new memoir, It's a Long Way to Florida, authors Brooke and Patricia Sadler share the remarkable story of how a honeymoon road trip to St. Petersburg, Florida, became a two-decade missionary journey spanning 30,000 miles across Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The book, which covers events from 1957 onward, details the couple's unexpected detours into humanitarian work, including smuggling flour past armed checkpoints during a famine and adopting more than 80 orphaned children.
The narrative begins with a modest lakeside wedding in Michigan and a brand new red Falcon car, intended to carry the newlyweds to Florida. Instead, they felt called to change course, leading them to a life of service overseas. The Sadlers' story is not a romanticized travelogue but an honest account of missionary life, including harrowing experiences like a 12,000-mile overland family road trip from London to Sri Lanka through military checkpoints.
Key episodes include Brooke Sadler's successful smuggling of truckloads of flour past five armed checkpoints during a government-declared famine to feed starving church workers in Colombo. The couple also forged a transformative friendship with a local Buddhist High Priest, which ultimately saved their mission school's land from government seizure. Their legacy includes opening their home to vulnerable children, starting with a poignant question from their young adopted daughter, Pami, leading to the care of over 80 orphans.
"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 retired and living in Greeneville, Tennessee, the Sadlers operate Nolichucky Cabins, a mountain retreat and glass wedding chapel. The memoir is published by Brooke & Patricia Sadler and is available via major book retailers. It's a Long Way to Florida offers a grounded template for living by faith, appealing to fans of Christian memoirs and inspiring travel narratives.
