We are so excited to announce that our dear friend and fellow Arkansan, Kemmi Sadler has published her stunning memoir, From the Badge to the Vine: A Journey Through Duty, Trauma, and Healing.
For years, I followed the rules. I upheld the law. I played my role in the system without questioning who built it – or why.
Until one day, I did.
What followed was not rebellion, but reckoning. A quiet, uncomfortable investigation into grief, fear, belief, and the stories I had inherited about justice, faith, and healing.
This book is the story of that investigation.
K. L. Sadler is a retired U.S. Diplomat and Supervisory Special Agent with the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service. Over a 26-year career as a sworn law enforcement officer and federal agent, she served in high-threat assignments across Iraq, Afghanistan, Uganda, Mexico, and El Salvador, where she received multiple Superior Honor Awards for leadership and crisis response. She began her law enforcement career as a police officer in St. Augustine, Florida.
Kemmi is the founder of Legalize the Divine, an initiative focused on thoughtful dialogue around conscience, spiritual freedom, and access to nature-based healing traditions, approached with care, responsibility, and respect for the law. She is also stewarding land in the Ozarks with the long-term intention of developing a small, land-based retreat focused on rest and recovery for those living with the invisible wounds of trauma.
In April 2026, Kemmi will walk the Camino de Santiago with her dog, Nona, in a pilgrimage called Nona’s Way, continuing her commitment to service beyond the badge while raising awareness surrounding the need for mental health and trauma recovery in the first responder community.
This is not really a book about psychedelics. It’s about what happens when the identity you built to survive stops making sense.
After twenty-six years in law enforcement and diplomatic security, I began confronting the grief, beliefs, and patterns I had carried for most of my life.
What followed wasn’t easy. But it was honest. And eventually, it led to clarity.
Today through April 19th, the E-book edition is available for FREE download on Amazon Kindle.
Or if you would like to hold the hardcopy in your hands (the ONLY way to read in my opinion) you can order the paperback or hardcover on Amazon.
Either way, we would love for you to leave a review for Kemmi when you are done. This will help her get her message out to the world!
You can listen to Kemmi talk about her experiences at the following podcasts:
➡️ The Psychedelic Christian Podcast
➡️ First Responder Wellness Podcast
On April 25, 2026, Nona and Kemmi will begin a 780-kilometer walk along the Camino de Santiago as part of Nona’s Way—an awareness journey centered on first responder mental health, trauma, and healing.
Our walk is an act of witness. A quiet offering. Along the way, we’ll honor first responders—those still serving, those we’ve lost, and those walking their own road to recovery. We’ll speak openly about the invisible weight that builds through years of service, and share what it looks like to keep going—one step, one paw at a time.
The Camino is a deeply personal, physically demanding, and financially significant undertaking. Your contributions help us walk safely and sustainably, share the journey as it unfolds, and expand outreach to first responder communities.
Our walk is happening regardless. Your support simply helps carry it forward.
It takes a great deal of tenacity to write and publish a book, and more importantly, a great deal of courage to tell one’s story so intimately and vulnerably. We hope you will take a moment to honor Kemmi’s hard work and bravery in getting her story out of her body and into the world.
Kemmi, we love you. Thank you for your bottomless heart!
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