'I binged The Salt Path book series and now I can't help but feel conned'

Daily Record

10-07-2025

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Bestselling memoir The Salt Path is making headlines this week after major accusations have been made against its author, Raynor Winn.
An investigation by the Observer, published last week, accused Winn of embezzling 'around £64,00' from a former employer, rather than being shafted by a money-hungry friend, as she had claimed in her memoir, which was recently released as a film starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs. She was also accused of lying about two main aspects of her book- her husband's terminal illness and the couple's homelessness status.
As a fan of both Raynor and her memoirs, I was shocked.
I spent many hours this year pouring over the pages of Raynor Winn's The Salt Path (2018) and its subsequent sequels, in an inspired state of disbelief and admiration.
A 'true' tear-jerker of a tale and the 45th best-selling memoir since records began, The Salt Path follows tough, 50-something, nature-loving Raynor (real name Sally Walker) and her husband Timothy 'Moth' Walker, who is diagnosed with a terminal illness, as they tackle the 630-mile South West Coast Path walk after losing their home.
In The Salt Path, the first book of the series, Moth is diagnosed with Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD), which is a type of Parkinson's, just before the couple lose their home and embark on a journey that strips them of all material possessions, with nothing to do but put one foot in front of the other, together.
(Image: Hugh)
The pair's subsequent perseverance and strength allows them to discover the true value of nature from their tent on the Coast Path. Their journey leads them to take further extreme walks in Iceland, and even along Scotland's Cape Wrath Trail and West Highland Way later in the three-part series, which is to see a fourth, according to Winn's publishing deal with Penguin.
Upon reading the heinous allegations made against Winn, anyone - like me - who connected with these books that seemed to prove the persistence of love, resilience and beating the odds, would feel manipulated.
Winn claims in the book that the pair lost their home due to a failed investment and subsequent legal row with a long-time friend. The memoir also details how Moth's disease progresses, and somehow regresses, throughout the series, as the demanding physical activity of long-distance walks appears to reverse the condition, in what Winn describes as a 'miracle'.
To think that any elements of the story, particularly details of Moth's illness, are lies or exaggerations fabricated to manipulate sympathy from readers for profit- the original paperback edition of The Salt Path grossed a whopping £4.97 million- is sickening.
The Observer's investigation scrutinised Raynor's accounts of her husband's terminal illness, with health experts including Proffesor Miche le Hu, a consultant neurologist and professor of clinical neurosciences at Oxford University, expressing scepticism.
The neurologist said she has 'never treated anyone who has lived that long' with CBD. Moth was diagnosed in 2013, and the average time until death for the condition is around five to 10 years, leading readers to question the supposed 'miracle' of his partial recovery.
A third serious allegation made by the investigation was that the couple owned a property in France for the entire duration of their 'homelessness', rendering the entire premise of this triumphant story of resilience and love a complete lie.
But Winn has hit back at every single accusation made by the investigation in a lengthy statement that seems to provide legitimate NHS letters confirming Moth's diagnosis.
The author said that they did indeed own a property in France, but that it was run-down and impossible to live in, and so the couple had not lied about being homeless either.
She also claimed that the backstabbing friend who they were indebted to was not the employer that Winn allegedly stole from, and that the dispute briefly described in The Salt Path was a separate matter altogether.
However, Winn admitted that she 'deeply regrets' and is truly sorry' for any 'mistakes' she made while she worked for the accusing employer, which could suggest some truth in the embezzlement allegation.
I don't believe that Raynor Winn created her husband's illness, or that she faked homelessness to evoke sympathy from her readers for money (although I do believe certain details may have been exaggerated).
The accusation of embezzlement, however, and her response, do suggest that she perhaps is not the gritty, hippy at-one-with-the-Earth character portrayed in her memoirs.
As someone who deeply connected with her writing, I can't help but feel conned- but perhaps it's my bad for idolising her.