Thread 5: To feel disappointed after reading this in The Observer about the author and her husband from The Salt Path book and film?

[DisappointedReader]

The Observer The real Salt Path: how a blockbuster book and film were ...

Second article in the Observer
https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/the-salt-path-whats-in-the-book-and-what-the-observer-has-found

Third item in the Observer
https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/the-salt-path-the-truth-behind-the-blockbuster-book-video

Thread One ^www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5368194-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?^

Thread 2 Thread 2. To feel disappointed after reading this in The Observer about the author and her husband from The Salt Path book and film? | Mumsnet

Thread 3 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5369425-thread-3-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?

Thread 4 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5370609-thread-4-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?

Raynor Winn/Sally Walker's statement Raynor Winn

Thank you @DisappointedReader !

Thanks!

Thank you.

Thanks - @DisappointedReader la lutta continua !

The point the ghostwriter was making on Today was that when he read the book he questioned the court case, the illness and how they survived on so little and seemed such incompetent campers. His question was why did the editor not notice these basic points and ask a basic question that may have had it unravel!

he said when he ghostwrites he will tease out misrememberings or fibs and try to get to the truth because he doesn’t want to write a memoir that will end up being called out like this!! He wrote Robbie Williams memoir though so who knows!!

Bookmarking...

I'm pondering over the fact that in the last thread a PP said that the film hasen't got distribution funding in the US yet. If that were to happen (unlikely I'm sure) and it were to be released then would Gillian and Jason have to go over and promote it on the talk show circuit? Surely that could be a little awkward!

Oh and thanks to @DisappointedReader . Meant to add that too the previous post.

It does indeed @sualipa ! For them and us, I imagine!

Was it the written interview with ghostwriter who said he was surprised that they never seemed to get any better at camping and usually people pick up stuff quickly like eg how best to choose a spot that's protected?

Sorry, I've looked but can't locate the source.

PMK

It was on Today on R4 at around 8.55

He didn’t go into detail but mentioned he found the various aspects unbelievable - particularly how they lived off so little

Also saw a guy called Ben Mercer saying that if you are going to be unflinchingly honest about people when you write non fiction you need to apply the same standard to yourself and it doesn’t appear TSP does that

Thanks for the new thread

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20r4p55vdvo

Listening to R4 now. The presenter seemed to imply the medical documents had proved the diagnosis

I'm reading and thinking about it all, even if I don't get a lot of time in the midst of normal life to comment in between catching up on the threads and links.

Five threads in I'm still feeling disappointed in the Walker-Winn-Wyns. The plot has only thickened for me somewhat since the first Observer piece, including because of Raynor/Sally's fudgy and salty statement. I hope we hear more from The Observer and others as a result of that.

No critical thinking in that article - just copy and paste

I haven’t seen many mentions in the U.S. press, but this piece from ABC News stands out. It uses The Salt Path story as a springboard to explore the broader question of what “truth” in a memoir really means. Notably, the article was written before Raynor Winn’s more recent pushback.

So, if the initial controversy hasn’t landed in the U.S. with the same impact as in the UK, a revised narrative perhaps shaped with input from her publisher and incorporating her rebuttal could help frame a more "balanced" perspective, at least from the product’s point of view. And that’s what it is now, at its most commercial: a product. This approach might not only prevent the backlash from derailing the film’s PR campaign, but could actually generate more curiosity and boost interest overall.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-10/the-salt-path-raynor-winn-film-memoir-scandal/105516146

I hadn't realised that we had moved onto Thread 5 before Thread 4 was full. I posted this on Thread 4 but in case it got missed I will repost it.

There is an element of Sally/Raynor's latest statement that I found odd & I don't think anyone else has picked up on yet.

In 2008, we asked for the money back. He said he didn’t have it but offered us a loan through his company. We agreed. Because the loan was coming from his company, he said it had to follow the company’s standard loan terms: 18% interest, which he would cover, and a charge on our home in his name. He assured us this was standard practice and only temporary as he would soon repay the loan to his company, and the charge would be removed. We were uneasy, but after so many years, it seemed like a way to finally resolve the issue. We trusted that Cooper would honour his word and repay the money to his company, as repayment of our original investment.
But he didn’t return the money to us or his company and the charge against our home wasn’t removed. Instead, he used the charge on our home to pay off his business creditors. In 2010, his company went into liquidation.

'Cooper' tells them that the loan is from the company with 18% interest, which he would cover, plus a charge against the house. The implication is that 'Cooper' would be paying the extortionate interest not the Walkers.

https://www.raynorwinn.co.uk/

I'll be thinking a lot less of Anderson and Isaacs if they continue to promote it in the same exuberant way they did before Sunday.

I imagine if it is to be published at all that the publishers now need to go over 'On Winter Hill' with a fine tooth comb to confirm that it really is written with "unflinching honesty".

On the loan - it makes zero sense

they were desperate for the money to pay off her stealing

if they hadn’t been they could have just asked him to pay back the investment at 18k a year until paid. If any of it actually made sense

and the only reason a company would have a policy in place on interest is if it was loans to directors - not collateralised loans

if any of that is true then she was never the right person to be a bookkeeper

Or market it as autofiction