Raynor Winn’s 2018 memoir The Salt Path has been shrouded in controversy following the discharge of a movie adaptation starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs.
The guide — which was nominated for the celebrated Wainwright Prize — chronicled Raynor and husband Moth on a 630-mile stroll throughout South West England after their Seventeenth-century farmhouse foreclosures.
Key parts of Raynor and Moth’s story — together with their actual names — have been referred to as into query by British publication The Observer. A former employer has accused the writer of stealing as a lot as $86,900 from enterprise accounts, whereas doubts have been solid over Raynor’s description of her husband Moth’s well being.
The author responded to rising skepticism over key particulars in The Salt Path by insisting that the guide was an correct depiction of her life.
“The Salt Path is about what occurred to Moth and me, after we misplaced our dwelling and located ourselves homeless on the headlands of the south west,” she wrote in an announcement through her web site on Wednesday, July 9. “It’s not about each occasion or second in our lives, however fairly a couple of capsule of time when our lives moved from a spot of full despair to a spot of hope.”
Hold scrolling for the total story of The Salt Path and the continued backlash.
‘The Salt Path’
Raynor Winn, Moth Winn, Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs in Could 2025 in London, England. Lia Toby/Getty Pictures
Raynor’s 2018 breakthrough memoir and travelog was marketed because the true story of her and husband Moth’s long-distance stroll throughout the South West Coast Path, England’s longest waymarked footpath, within the wake of dropping their dwelling.
In The Salt Path, Raynor writes {that a} dangerous choice to take a position with a longtime buddy — who she calls Cooper to “shield” his household’s id — precipitated the Winns to lose substantial sums of cash when Cooper’s enterprise failed and so they have been held chargeable for his money owed.
Across the identical time, Moth was reportedly recognized with corticobasal degeneration (CBD), which in accordance with the Mayo Clinic is “a uncommon illness that causes areas of the mind to shrink.”
Confronted with dropping their dream dwelling and Moth’s declining well being, the Winns selected to stroll the 630-mile South West footpath, dwelling off the meager tax credit they earned each week.
The Salt Path concludes with some hope for the Winns, as they’re provided new lodging and Moth’s well being improves on account of the long-distance stroll.
Raynor wrote two follow-up books about homelessness and long-distance strolling — 2020’s The Wild Silence and 2021’s Landlines. A movie adaptation of The Salt Path, starring Anderson and Isaacs, premiered on the Toronto Worldwide Movie Competition in September 2014, earlier than it arrived in U.Okay. theaters in Could 2025.
Controversy
Raynor Winn in Could 2025. Hugh R Hastings/Getty Pictures
An investigative report by The Observer revealed alleged discrepancies within the Winns’ story, proper right down to their names. In response to the general public document, Moth and Raynor Winn’s actual names are Tim and Sally Ann Walker.
The Salt Path’s declare that the Winns misplaced their dream dwelling on account of a foul funding has additionally been referred to as into query. A former enterprise affiliate, Ros Hemmings, alleged that Raynor labored as a bookkeeper for her household enterprise till Ros’ husband Martin Hemmings allegedly found that $12,200 (or £9,000) was lacking from firm accounts in 2008. Raynor was accused of failing to deposit massive sums of money within the Hemmingses’ enterprise account. (Raynor denies all allegations put forth by Ros.)
When Raynor was confronted, Ros alleged that the Salt Path writer provided to promote her mom’s wedding ceremony gown to pay again a portion of the $12,200 owed. Nevertheless, Hemmings finally went to police after realizing that as a lot as $86,900 (£64,000) could have been stolen from firm accounts. (Raynor allegedly disappeared earlier than any legal proceedings may transfer ahead.)
“We saved trying again [through the accounts],” Hemmings advised the outlet. “In the long run, I feel it was round £64,000 she’d nicked over the last few years.”
The Observer reported that the Winns later borrowed $135,900 (£100,000) to pay again their debt, just for their home to be repossessed. This repossession allegedly passed off as a result of the sum the couple owed was greater than their $312,580 (£230,000) mortgage.
There have been doubts about Moth’s CBD analysis as properly. In response to Britain’s National Health Service, these affected by CBD sometimes have a life expectancy of six to eight years from their analysis, but the exposé claimed that Moth has seemingly survived 18 years with none “seen acute signs. “
Winn wrote in her Salt Path follow-up guide, Landlines, that current mind scans have proven “a definite discount in [Moth’s] receptor cells,” but he registered “a standard studying” after endeavor one other long-distance strolling journey.
“We do know that neuroplasticity exists, though we all know little or no about it,” she writes. “We used to suppose the Earth was flat. We used to suppose no universe existed past our personal.”
Prof Michele Hu of Oxford College advised The Observer that she was “very skeptical” that Moth does have CBD as a result of she’d “by no means taken care of anybody that’s lived that lengthy.”
Raynor’s Response
Raynor referred to as The Observer’s report “grotesquely unfair [and] extremely deceptive,” along with accusing the web site of making an attempt to “systematically decide aside [her] life.”
“The Salt Path is about what occurred to Moth and me, after we misplaced our dwelling and located ourselves homeless on the headlands of the south west,” she wrote in an announcement through her web site on July 9. “It’s not about each occasion or second in our lives, however fairly a couple of capsule of time when our lives moved from a spot of full despair to a spot of hope. The journey held inside these pages is one among salt and climate, of ache and risk. And I can’t permit any extra doubt to be solid on the validity of these reminiscences, or the enjoyment they’ve given so many.”
The writer launched what she says are “two clinical letters” from Britain’s Nationwide Well being Service that she says confirm Moth’s corticobasal degeneration analysis.
“The analysis doesn’t come from a easy check, however fairly from a protracted and sophisticated route of commentary, the place victims could have signs for a few years earlier than they lastly attain a analysis,” she wrote. “Even then, many victims’ signs current in an atypical approach. They won’t current with the identical signs, occurring in the identical order, or with the identical severity. As I’ve defined many instances in my books, we are going to all the time be grateful that Moth’s model of CBS is indolent, its sluggish development (P15 The Salt Path) has allowed us time to find how strolling helps him. Others aren’t so fortunate. “
The author continued. “The impact of the suggestion that Moth has made up this situation has been completely traumatizing for him. Solutions made by folks, who have no idea him, have by no means met him, and have by no means seen his medical information. However even worse, is the impact on these victims who’ve regarded to Moth as a beacon of hope. The hope that, possibly not now, possibly not for them, however in some unspecified time in the future sooner or later, we would discover some solutions to this situation that has no therapy, and no treatment.”
Addressing the theft allegations, Raynor maintained that her authorized dispute with the Hemmingses was “not the court docket case [depicted] in The Salt Path,” nor did it “end in [the couple] dropping [their] dwelling.” She added, “Mr. Hemmings is just not Cooper. Mrs. Hemmings is just not within the guide, neither is she a relative of somebody who’s.”
The Salt Path writer confirmed that the Hemmingses did file a police report towards her, however countered: “I used to be questioned, I used to be not charged, nor did I face legal sanctions. I reached a settlement with Martin Hemmings as a result of I didn’t have the proof required to help what occurred.”
“The phrases of the settlement have been willingly agreed by each events; Mr Hemmings was as eager to achieve a personal decision as I used to be,” she stated. “Part of that settlement was that I’d pay cash to Mr Hemmings on a ‘non-admissions foundation’. This is the reason we would have liked the cash again from Cooper that we invested.”
As for the lack of her dwelling, Raynor stated the foreclosures was certainly the results of a failed enterprise mortgage with the “lifetime buddy” she refers to as “Cooper.” She referred to as the accusation that the Winns used “pseudonyms” to keep away from money owed “notably stunning.”
“Because the Observer has, so intrusively, entered each different space of my life, they may have run a easy credit score examine towards me and Moth. Had they accomplished so, they might have discovered now we have no money owed,” she insisted.
She later clarified, “Let me clarify my names. Winn is my maiden identify and like most ladies who’ve married I’ve used each my maiden identify, Winn, and married identify, Walker. Within the early years after Moth and I met, I advised him I disliked my identify Sally Ann, it made me consider ringlets and gingham attire, and the way I needed I’d been given the household identify of Raynor. From then on, he referred to as me Ray. It’s the identify many people who find themselves near me have identified me by, and the identify I really like and selected as my pen identify. Moth is simply an abbreviation of his identify – Timothy.”
Nonetheless, Raynor cancelled a planned U.K. tour with the Gigspanner Massive Band to learn parts of The Salt Path in entrance of reside audiences. Her spokesperson confirmed that Raynor is “deeply sorry to let down those that have been planning to attend the Saltlines Tour, however whereas this course of is ongoing, she will probably be unable to participate.”
Different Responses
Raynor Winn of The Salt Path in Could 2025. Hugh R Hastings/Getty Pictures
A spokesperson for Quantity 9 Movies, which produced The Salt Path film, advised Us Weekly that the film is “a devoted adaptation of the guide” it optioned.
“The allegations made in The Observer relate to the guide and are a matter for the writer Raynor Winn,” a spokesperson for the corporate responded. “We’ve got handed any correspondence regarding the article to Raynor and her agent. “
Quantity 9’s consultant harassed to Us that there have been “no identified claims towards the guide on the time of optioning it or producing and distributing the movie.”
“We undertook all needed due diligence earlier than buying the guide,” the corporate stated. “The journalist contacting us in regards to the story on the finish of final week was the primary time we have been made conscious of the allegations.”
Likewise, writer Penguin insisted to BBC News that it “undertook all the required pre-publication due diligence” previous to publishing The Salt Path. Penguin confirmed it had a “a contract with an writer guarantee about factual accuracy, and [the book received] a authorized learn, as is normal with most works of non-fiction.”
“Previous to the Observer enquiry, we had not obtained any considerations in regards to the guide’s content material,” a Penguin spokesperson stated.
Within the wake of the scandal, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Affiliation UK (PSPA), a charitable group that helps folks with CBD, introduced it could now not work with the Winns.
“Raynor and Moth labored with many people and organisations since their first guide was revealed, together with PSPA,” the group stated in an announcement. “We obtained the household’s want for help, and need to boost consciousness of PSP & CBD in good religion. While we’re grateful for the notice alternatives their story has supplied; too many questions presently stay unanswered. Due to this fact, now we have made the choice to terminate our relationship with the household.”
The PSPA response concluded, “Within the meantime, we wish to reassure supporters that any fundraising Raynor and Moth performed for PSPA was through official platforms comparable to JustGiving and monies raised have been obtained in full by the charity.”
Us has reached out to representatives Anderson and Isaacs for remark.