Friday, 8 August 2025

Taken With A Pinch Of Salt

I read this during lockdown, two years after it first came out. I gave it a 3* review, and dithered about making it 4*. I admired their resilience and commitment to their marriage - and having toured France ourselves with a tiny tent, minimal luggage and a tight budget, I recognised that such ventures can be very stressful.
But last month's article in the Observer, by Chloe Hadjimatheou left a really sour taste in my mouth.
What was claimed to be a 'true story' in fact is full of not just inaccuracies, but many actual falsehoods. 
When I read the book, some parts didn't feel quite right, and in my review I said as much  "It doesn't do to be too forensic as you read it. I think there are parts where things may have been slightly adjusted to fit the narrative. I mean, surely, a woman of her age, packing for a long journey by the sea in summer, would remember a hat and some sanpro? And their diet, if it was exactly as described, seems extremely bizarre and unhealthy. Dates are very vague - and there is a hiatus in their walk, when someone offers accommodation so they can be inside 'over the winter'. Nine months disappear into one chapter. "
But I tried not too be too judgmental, so didn't put in my review that I felt that stealing food from the village shop is always wrong: I gave her the benefit of the doubt, their finances were tight, she was worried that her sick husband was weak from lack of food etc. But now I learn that they own a plot of land in France, and 
that there are serious doubts about his diagnosis of a terminal illness.
Winn was very critical of other people, who apparently 
dismissed the pair as "tramps, down and outs, or addicts". There are numerous episodes where they are treated badly at campsites and little shops. Since Chloe's article, a number of Cornish people have come forward and spoken of their distress at recognising their shops and sites described in the book - with totally false reports of what happened. Some are local traders who lost business because of the way they have been very inaccurately portrayed in the book.
Somebody at Penguin didn't do their necessary checking up before publishing this "true" story, did they? They might have discovered inter3sting facts -That the bailiffs claimed their house because they had embezzled money from their employees. That nine months condensed into one short chapter misses out the things that they did in the community which sheltered them, and the debts they left unpaid. That the medical details in the book do not follow the same timeline as those Winn has given elsewhere. 
It is all really sickening. I wonder how Gillian Anderson feels now, having played the lead character in the film? 
I recognised that directors claim "dramatic licence" when they alter the details of a story for the film - to make it easier to follow etc. But it seems to be the case that a high percentage of the original book was based on economies with the truth - and yet it claims to be a true story.
"What would happen to us, if we suddenly became homeless and without any income?" I said to Bob - and he said that our friends would rally round and help. [As they did for us in 1985] "Well where were her friends?" I responded. And I found myself wondering if the fact that Raynor claimed that nobody seemed to be friendly towards to them was because she herself wasn't a particularly friendly character. Maybe she did not have any friends to support her.
As Mark Twain said "A lie can get half way round the world while truth is getting its boots on"
Some people are angry, others feel cheated by all this. I just feel sad






37 comments:

  1. I've not read that particular book, but, I've read some good reviews that people wrote about it, believing the book was a true story. What a pity if it wasn't quite true.

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  2. I didn't finish the book, partly because the row erupted while I was two-thirds through and partly because I got tired of the samey narrative. I was very upset that people including myself been taken in by them. Also by the growing feeling that they were proffering a cure or chance of remission for a truly nasty and terrible progressive disease. Altogether a sad, sad episode.

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    1. Quite a few medics working in the field of CBD/CBS are very angry that false hope has been given to other sufferers. That is a cruel thing to do

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  3. I didnt read the book to the end, simply because I didnt feel it rang true. I had already heard that the pair were 'given' a house to shelter in and wondered why they needed to keep on walking (and moaning). I think a lot of people have been very hurt by the attitudes of the writer.

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    1. You are a perceptive person, so picked up on the parts that didn't "ring true".

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  4. I've not read the book or seen the film but have read both the Observer article and Raynor Winn's statement in response to it which I found online. Both a fascinating read and I was left wondering which version is the truth.
    Artistic licence can only be forgiven if nobody is adversely affected by it.

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    1. Which, as in this case, many people have been hurt.

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  5. Managed the first chapter then gave up. Couldn't get my head around her dragging a very sick husband around such a wild coastline.Somewhat incredulous I thought. That's just my opinion. Others have loved the books and the film.

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  6. We saw "Raynor Winn" give a talk at Rye Festival about her book around about time it was published. She gave a talk and then there was a Q&A session. She came across as quite nervous and diffident. She gave quite clipped, brief answers. Both my Husband and I thought she wasn't a strong personality. We had both read the Salt Path and quite enjoyed it but had found it a bit hard to swallow at times. We have seen the film and thought the acting was good. Then the article was printed and it does stick in one's throat a bit. Quite a lot of harm has been done and as a you say it is all very sad. Regards Sue H

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    1. That's in interesting comment from somebody who has encountered her in person

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  7. There would not have been any backlash if it had been sold as a fictional story, but I doubt that any publisher would have taken it on as fiction, nor would it have had so much success if they had.
    I feel sorry for the people who were misrepresented by her and have faced a backlash while knowing that she will continue to profit from sales of her books for years to come.

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    1. I agree with your first paragraph -" A True Story " was very much the selling point. At what point do Penguin say "this is not true after all. Particularly the idea that walking can cure CBS. We are not publishing any more copies "?

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    2. I agree with your first paragraph -" A True Story " was very much the selling point. At what point do Penguin say "this is not true after all. Particularly the idea that walking can cure CBS. We are not publishing any more copies "?

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  8. I didn't read the book, but I know lots of people loved it and found it inspirational. I wonder how they are feeling now...I mean, does the fact that it is (apparently) very far from the truth take away the fact that it inspired them? I don't know.

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    1. I read an article by a CBS sufferer who read the book. He tried walking [to the postbox and back] and felt an utterly failure because he couldn't do even that much. His consultant was really angry about the damage this has book has done.

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  9. I have thought about reading this book many times as you often see it in charity shops-I felt uneasy about the whole thing from the beginning and never did. A bit embarrassing for the film makers and the publishers.

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    1. I imagine this development may improve sales...

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  10. The medical part has all been cleared up now with Raynor providing the proof of Moth's illness and the consultant backing her up in that he has a unique form of it. Most of what you say seems based on the initial newspaper reports and a lot has since been explained.

    Happily, most bookshops that sell the book have now transferred it to the fiction shelves and tables, a much safer idea I think. The film was actually brilliant and we both enjoyed it.

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    1. Not seen the film so cannot comment on that. You are right that moving the books to the fiction section is a safer idea.

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  11. I posted about this a few weeks ago. Since then she has issued her rebuttal, and Tim Walker's nephew put a post on his LinkedIn referring to his aunt and uncle as pathological liars, which seems fairly damning, though he has since removed the post. I haven't read any of Sally Walker's books or seen the film, but at the time of publication for The Salt Path, when they were doing the rounds for publicity purposes, things did not ring true to me. Maybe it's because I was 2 years into medical investigations myself and thought that the idea of being able to do such a strenuous walk with his symptoms and diagnosis was ridiculous. Maybe it was the lack of depth to their answers. Maybe I'm just suspicious. Whatever it was, the alarms went off, and they were still going off during their recent appearances to promote the film. I have been following threads about this on Mumsnet, with contributors whose sleuthing prowess is considerable. They have uncovered numerous lies, inconsistencies and half truths in regard to this grift.

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    1. Sorry, I seem to have missed your post. You're right about Mumsnet, although I don't follow it, I find some of the 'facts' there are occasionally requiring a pinch of salt too

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  12. I recently read a newspaper article written by the owner of a Cornish cafe the couple visited some years ago, which Raynor Winn wrote about in her book. At the time of their visit, the cafe was owned by the article writer's mother, Winn didn't name the cafe but as it was the only cafe in the small village (which she did name), it was obvious which one it was. The article writer said that what Winn wrote was a pack of lies, she was able to rebut every single 'fact' given by Winn. Maybe Winn just misremembered, who knows, but there were certainly a lot of inconsistencies.

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  13. So interesting to read your post and the above comments. I've got mixed feelings about it all because I thoroughly enjoyed the books and felt very let down when all this came to light .
    Perhaps she should have had the sense to write this as fiction but I suppose it was the 'fact being stranger than fiction ' element that folk want........ I imagine they'll try and keep well out of the limelight for a while. A rather sad business.
    Alison in Devon x

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  14. I never read this book and won’t be doing so now. Hopefully the author paid off all her debts when she got paid well for her book. I would help out any friend who genuinely needed it but it looks like this lady may have left herself with no friends due to her behaviour. Like you, I felt sad rather than annoyed. Catriona

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  15. RannedomThoughts8 August 2025 at 15:08

    I've read all three of the books published so far. Suspect the fourth will never see the light of day. I enjoyed them all and 'The Salt Path' has a lot of useful and interesting stuff about homelessness in general. But I am very disappointed, nobody likes to be duped. I'm hoping someone collates all the 'true' stuff coming out now because it sounds even more interesting than the books themselves.

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  16. It seems that many have felt a disconnect with the events in this book. Truth has a way of asserting itself when there are doubts and inconsistencies. I probably would have read it if I had come across it, and I wonder if I would have discerned the discrepancies, too.

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  17. I gave up about half-way through as things didn't ring true and from the start didn't feel drawn towards her as a person I would want to meet. I feel sorry for the people who have been duped. Why didn't the publishers do more background checks either. But they have to live with the choices they've made. Xx

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  18. There's bound to be a book about the book soon!

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