From the Badge to the Vine: A Journey Through Duty, Trauma, and Healing

After more than twenty-five years as a sworn law enforcement officer and federal agent, K. L. Sadler found herself confronting a question many who serve quietly carry: Who am I when the structure of service is gone and what happens to the parts of me shaped by duty, authority, and survival?From the Badge to the Vine is a reflective memoir about moral injury, healing, and integration after a life shaped by service. Drawing on her lived experience in law enforcement and international security, Sadler traces a deeply personal reckoning with identity, responsibility, and purpose at the edge of profound transition.Ceremonial work with ayahuasca appears in this story not as a solution or prescription, but as a catalyst, opening a door to insight that demanded something more difficult and enduring. The heart of the book lies in what followed: the long, often uncomfortable process of integrating those insights into everyday life, relationships, and leadership once the badge was set aside.Written with restraint, clarity, and emotional honesty, From the Badge to the Vine avoids easy answers or ideology. Instead, it offers a grounded account of healing that unfolds over time through accountability, humility, and the hard work of living differently.This memoir speaks directly to first responders, veterans, and those who support them, including clinicians, leaders, and readers drawn to serious narratives of healing beyond slogans or certainty. At its core, it is a book about navigating identity and purpose after service and learning how to carry insight responsibly into the life that remains.