Best-selling book The Salt Path inspired millions with its story of a British couple overcoming adversity and finding new hope taking to the road, but new reporting from UK newspaper the Observer challenges the facts underpinning this inspiring narrative.
Published in 2018, The Salt Path tells the story of author Raynor Winn and her husband Moth losing their home in Wales after a bad investment in a childhood friend’s business leaves them liable for his debt. In the midst of becoming homeless, Moth is diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration (CBD), a rare and debilitating neurodegenerative disease which usually has a life expectancy of around 6 to 8 years.
With nothing left to lose, the couple set out on a 1,014-kilometre trek along the South West Coast Path, an exhausting but rewarding journey that eventually sees the Winns make a fresh start in a new home, Moth’s condition improved by the walk. Reporting by the Observer, however, suggests almost none of that is true.
The couple did lose their home, they likely made the long journey along the coastline of England’s southwestern peninsula, but the events leading up to the walk, Moth’s illness, even the couple’s names – are nothing more than “lies, deceit and desperation”, according to investigative journalist Chloe Hadjimatheou.
Hadjimatheou uncovered court documents, arrest and property records, and interviewed police officers, lawyers and other people directly involved in the events leading up to the Winn’s journey, building a strong case that The Salt Path is far from the true story its author claims.
According to the report, Raynor Winn’s real name is Sally Walker, who was arrested for stealing tens of thousands from the company where she worked as a bookkeeper. She disappeared after being released from jail, only for her lawyer to contact her former employer and offer a deal: she would pay back the roughly £64,000 (US$87,000) she allegedly stole if he agreed to drop all charges.
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He did and Sally paid, having received a loan from a distant relative of her husband, whose real name is Tim Walker. When the relative’s business went bust, his creditors took the Walkers to court, eventually taking possession of their home.
Then there is Tim’s illness. People diagnosed with CBD typically die within 8 years, with many patients experiencing debilitating symptoms significantly before that, eventually requiring around-the-clock care. Tim, who has no visibly acute symptoms, claims to have lived with the disease for 18 years, something researchers and neurologists interviewed found highly dubious.
Winn’s publisher, Penguin Books issued a statement after publication of the Observer piece. “Penguin undertook all the necessary pre-publication due diligence, including a contract with an author, warranty about factual accuracy, and a legal read, as is standard with most works of non-fiction.” (A legal read refers to the process of lawyers reviewing a book for issues including potential copyright and trademark law violations, libelous statements or any potential right of privacy violations before publication.)
“Prior to the Observer enquiry, we had not received any concerns about the book’s content,” the publisher noted. Raynor has published two sequels with Penguin, The Wild Silence and Landlines, and has a deal with the company to produce at least one more.
Meanwhile, the two production companies behind a film version of the Salt Path, Number 9 Films and Shadowplay Features, said in a statement, that “The film is a faithful adaptation of the book that we optioned.” The companies emphasised that the allegations made by the Observer relate to the book and to Winn, and that they “undertook all necessary due diligence before acquiring the book.”
Having debuted at the Toronto Film Festival, the film adaptation of The Salt Path has largely completed its theatrical run in several countries, but has not yet secured a distribution deal in the lucrative American market. People involved worry that the film is now “tainted,” decreasing the expected box office returns and award chances for its two stars, Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs.
