To feel disappointed after reading this in The Observer about the author and her husband from The Salt Path book and film?

[DisappointedReader]

The real Salt Path: how the couple behind a bestseller le...

I read Raynor Winn's book The Salt Path and her other two books. I was looking forward to seeing the film at some point and to reading her next book. I felt sorry to read about the challenges the couple had faced, especially with regard to losing their family home and with Moth's health. Now, having read the article in today's Observer, I feel a bit stunned and am not sure what to think.

Agree. I think Sally and Tim Walker and chums may be creating a few new accounts on chat forums

Is that you Raynor, or whatever you call yourself?

I haven't read the book so I'm going purely by the article and this thread.

Quite apart from the ripping off of anyone they could, and the manipulating the system (eg the student loan), if they actually are fabricating Moth's condition, then I find that despicable and unforgivable.

Meanwhile, a young man I know, who was diagnosed with brain cancer aged 25, has spent the last 6 years turning his life around and raising as much money as he can for various brain charities. Now his story is one I would read/watch.

I hope Sally and Tim are called to account for their lies and stealing.

It wasn't necessary to call you a dangerous person, but it's absolutely true that a lack of critical thinking is dangerous. You posted that the Observer article could be true or not, implying there is no way to know. But there is. Evidence. Tedsshed rightly pointed out the evidence.

Ignoring evidence and treating all sources of information as equally reliable (or unreliable) leads to believing lies, and that can lead to harmful actions, That's why a lack of critical thinking is dangerous.

Not an attack, a firm questioning of your opinion.

You questioned the veracity and accuracy of an established journalist with an excellent record for uncovering frauds. If your spidey senses are telling you that Chloe Hadjimatheou has got things wrong, explain and show examples of why you think that. Offer evidence instead of spidey feelings.

Quite - and the Observer do not just print anyone or anything. They actually do have to do due diligence, unlike Penguin it would seem.

To derail a moment, @Abhannmor , I love the expression 'decent old skins'! 😄Is it an Irish saying?

The Observer is not in the best shape financially. There is absolutely not a chance they would publish this without extensive legalling - they can't afford to.

I have a friend who found it really inspiring, the effect of nature on his illness (which she doesn't share but no matter). That he apparently relapses when no on one of their long walks. And it's all balls. There's something really anger-inducing about that lie. I can't put my finger on it. It's just so calculating. Think of something that'll pull at the heartstrings. Real people read and feel real emotion.

Have read the book and thought it was full of holes and badly written. Was going to see the film, mainly to see bits of the coastal path that I know but am not going to bother now. Can't stand liars.

We share your pain in North Clare. Our book is already at the publishers😂

THIS. We are all worse off currently because decent sources have been lumped in with the post-truth era disruptors.

I'm assuming that the £100k loan against the house was used to pay her employer back and thus avoid any further action, regarding embezzlement, with the police. That bit is omitted from The Observer article, for some reason.

I enjoyed the film though, it seemed quite fictional to me anyhow. I did expect that Moth would have died by now though if indeed he did have the illness claimed.

I agree with this to a degree and am getting a bit 🙄 at some of the self-righteous indignation on here.
Asking for a refund is just posturing imo - and buying into the victim mentality we are all criticising on here.
Criminal behaviour obviously needs investigation but as a pp said, this literary genre is very much the writer's narrative so I doubt anyone involved has any liability except the writer for fraudulently taking money in the first place.

I guess they never knew the book would be a best seller. The Walker family must have been waiting for this to come to light.

I read the book and the one thing that stuck withe was the story behind how they lost their farm - the "bad guy Cooper" saga was waiting to be dug into.

If you know the coast path, the film is irritating as they’ve used incorrect locations and used places as stand-ins for others. I’ve always been suspicious of the walking aspect - it really didn’t ring true, wouldn’t be surprised if that turns out to be fake now as well.
Mark Wallington’s 500 Hundred Mile Walkies is a far better read.

Not if personal guarantees have been given. I speak from experience.

Theres a difference between a bit of artistic licence and an outright lie that feeds into harmful myths about the ability of exercise to cure serious neurological conditions

Great post.

It's made me feel really sad and sick to be honest 😔

Ive always thought there was something "off" about that book. It didnt seem to add up. Now I get why.

The silence - and absence - of their children (who must be well into adulthood by now) is pretty damning

From the main article:

James arranged a deal under which he would lend Walker the money to repay the sum she had allegedly stolen, Rebecca says. He also got her a good solicitor.

Back in Wales, Hemmings recalls how her husband Martin was contacted by “some fancy London solicitor” who told them Walker would pay all the missing money and would cover legal costs on both sides if – and only if – Martin agreed not to pursue a criminal case against her. Martin also had to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

...

During the case James filed a witness statement in which he told the court that “the purpose of the loan is clear: it was required to settle a criminal allegation made against Mrs Walker”

Yeah, I can’t remember the specifics of the book, I read it that long ago, but I do remember thinking only a couple of chapters in - why don’t they go to one of their children for a couple of weeks while they get some benefits, etc, sorted?

And she freely admitted stealing from shops in Cornwall and climbing over campsite fences after dark to pitch their tent and use the facilities without paying, then fuck off before dawn.

I know a person who owns one of these campsites where they did this. It really upset them, as it prompted a spate of copy cat behaviour. No the campsite isn't cheap - go somewhere else if you don't want to pay the prices. No one opens a campsite to get rich.

The statement they have released through their solicitor is also pretty damning
They don't deny any of the points made in the article. That was their opportunity to do so.

The book’s Wikipedia page has already been updated under a section entitled ‘Disputed Narrative’:

Chloe Hadjimatheou, in The Observer, wrote that the story narrated in The Salt Path was not entirely true. Ros Hemmings, Raynor Winn's former employer, stated that Winn, whose name at that time was Sally Walker, had "embezzled"[9] money from the family company run by Hemmings's husband. In addition, Hadjimatheou reports that the new owner of the Winns' former house (that was repossessed), Maxine Farrimond, has received debt collection letters and bills "addressed to Sally and Tim Walker".[9] Hadjimatheou identified a property in south-west France, now uninhabitable, owned by the Walkers and owing property taxes. Further, she reports that the "nine neurologists and researchers specialising in CBD" she spoke to all doubt that Moth could have lived so long or so well with corticobasal degeneration.[9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Salt_Path