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

1000 replies

DisappointedReader · 11/07/2025 12:48

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

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

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

Penniless and homeless, the Winns found fame and fortune with the story of their 630-mile walk to salvation. We can reveal that the truth behind it is ve...

https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/the-real-salt-path-how-the-couple-behind-a-bestseller-left-a-trail-of-debt-and-deceit

OP posts:
Thread gallery
47
tighterthanaducksarse · 12/07/2025 23:39

ThatFluentHedgehog · 12/07/2025 23:32

Regarding raw nerve, it's been posited on here that she has a psychological disorder that enables her to act in ways it's hard for others to imagine (or stomach).

Yes a pathological liar and a narcissist.

AnAlpacaForChristmasPleaseSanta · 12/07/2025 23:40

With Martin long gone, it seems like people will never know the truth. At the end of the day, the money was paid back so there isn’t any point in dragging this on - especially given that it’s barely mentioned in the book at all.

Yeah, funny that...

PullTheBricksDown · 12/07/2025 23:40

Pianogirl1994 · 12/07/2025 23:02

But then, why not mention all this when the first book was published seven years ago? In this digital age, it would have been so easy for the wife to contact a paper to complain when the book came out. Or maybe when they announced a film was being made, or even when filming started.

If she was bitter about it all, then why wait seven years? I’m sorry but it does not make sense. If the book had just come out, then that would be one thing. The film is just a reproduction of the book, so no need to get “upset” about the misrepresentation.

Also, the alleged bad business deal literally makes up less than a paragraph out of the entire book. Most of it focuses on the walk they did. It seems ridiculous to make such a fuss over something which isn’t really a part of the story.

Maybe someone needs to re-examine their definition of “misrepresentation”? The book is basically just them sharing their experience of walking the path, with their own thoughts and how they felt. I’ve just finished the book and do not feel in the least bit lied to or that it was misrepresented. In fact, by the time I reached the end, I couldn’t even remember the whole reason they became homeless in the first place…

It did make me want to walk the path though!

I posted a response to this 'why now?' question on an earlier thread, and can't find it now or I'd copy and paste 😜 But the gist is: even for a bestselling book, most people still won't have read it or even heard of it - my DH and I are both readers and neither of us has read it, nor heard much about the author. When the film came out, though, it came to my attention and I went to see it (and posted that they were infuriatingly vague about how they lost the house..) It makes a huge amount of difference in public awareness. I wouldn’t imagine most or even any of these people would have known about it when the book came out.

ThatFluentHedgehog · 12/07/2025 23:40

FurryHappyKittens · 12/07/2025 23:32

It was actually a Rayburn...

But good spot. How weird!

Ah, others had been referring to it on here as an Aga, and when I found the reference in the newspaper article (I originally search on "Aga") I had a quick Google of "Rayburn" as I hadn't heard of that make before. Shopping search results blend in competitor brands, and I assumed it was just a model of Aga... Learnt something about range stoves now though! 😄

Thread 5: To feel disappointed after reading this in The Observer about the author and her husband from The Salt Path book and film?
Pianogirl1994 · 12/07/2025 23:41

Aspanielstolemysanity · 12/07/2025 23:29

What nonsense . Of course you would accept the money rather than risk never seeing a penny of it. Also kinder to let the person pay you back than face a criminal case.

What you wouldn't do if innocent, is pay over £60k to someone rather than face some police questioning

Oh and she was questioned by the police - she admitted as much herself on her website.

So much for wanting to “face some police questioning”… The article said she was arrested too - by law, the police have 24 hours to either charge someone or release them. She was not charged, so this means that they must have released her.

Choux · 12/07/2025 23:41

Has @DisappointedReadergone to bed? We need a thread 6 imminently. Especially as the next Observer instillment is due to drop. If she doesn’t respond by the time we get to 990 post I will set up Thread 6.

FurryHappyKittens · 12/07/2025 23:41

I assumed it was just a model of Aga.

😮

FurryHappyKittens · 12/07/2025 23:42

Choux · 12/07/2025 23:41

Has @DisappointedReadergone to bed? We need a thread 6 imminently. Especially as the next Observer instillment is due to drop. If she doesn’t respond by the time we get to 990 post I will set up Thread 6.

It's up!

ClearStory · 12/07/2025 23:43

Pianogirl1994 · 12/07/2025 23:26

I’m not being obtuse - it’s just that any sensible person would question why these allegations come to light a couple of months after the release of a popular film.

Also, criminal charges were never filed. Given how serious embezzlement is, you wouldn’t just “reach a settlement” to avoid prosecution. If she was indeed arrested but not charged, then it means that the police did not find enough evidence to charge her.

The books all went through what’s called a legal read (as all non fiction does), where basically a team of lawyers go through all aspects of the book to make sure it’s accurate. I wonder why nothing cropped up then. A major publishing house like Penguin also do background checks on people before endorsing them, so then why wasn’t this known about?

The legal read (if indeed it had one?) for a memoir will have focused on whether anything that appears in The Salt Path is actionable — is someone identifiable brought into disrepute? Is RW advocating walking as a miracle cure for everyone suffering from a named disease? It might, for instance, been on their advice that the remark where the doctor says he can’t make a firm CBD diagnosis, as the only test is post-mortem, was included. Memoirs aren’t generally fact-checked, and the standard contract RW will have signed assigns all legal responsibility for the book being substantially true to the author.

I don’t actually think it’s all that terribly unlikely that someone with a grudge against the Walkers might have been completely unaware of the book or its writer and main characters until the film promotion started happening.

ThatFluentHedgehog · 12/07/2025 23:44

FurryHappyKittens · 12/07/2025 23:41

I assumed it was just a model of Aga.

😮

I'm not familiar with range stoves! Outing myself as a citydweller.

Doesn't help that eBayers are selling them as Aga Rayburns...

Also..... interesting she chose a Ray 😄

Thread 5: To feel disappointed after reading this in The Observer about the author and her husband from The Salt Path book and film?
AldoGordo · 12/07/2025 23:44

Pianogirl1994 · 12/07/2025 23:36

Do you remember the Post Office
scandal which was in the news recently? Where hundreds of people were accused of embezzlement and it turns out they’re all innocent after all? A lot of them agreed to similar settlement deals and paid a load of money back too.

Just a case in point that agreeing to pay money to avoid a prison charge doesn’t necessarily mean one is guilty.

With Martin long gone, it seems like people will never know the truth. At the end of the day, the money was paid back so there isn’t any point in dragging this on - especially given that it’s barely mentioned in the book at all.

(I wonder how many of the people commenting on here have actually read the book? Not many, judging by the huge fuss they’re making…)

I think you are misunderstanding pretty much why people are making a fuss...the book is based on many lies, undermining the entire story, which actually does upset some people. Yet you choose to believe the book in the face of objective evidence. Have you perhaps asked yourself why the paying back of missing money isn't mentioned in the book?

MrsKypp · 12/07/2025 23:44

@Pianogirl1994 are you for real? You sound like a troll.

Are you seriously claiming you think there's no important difference between a terminal diagnosis with a prognosis of 2 years versus a mild, indolent disease?

No evidence has been provided to show that Moth was ever diagnosed with anything other than a mild and indolent condition.

Aspanielstolemysanity · 12/07/2025 23:44

Pianogirl1994 · 12/07/2025 23:41

Oh and she was questioned by the police - she admitted as much herself on her website.

So much for wanting to “face some police questioning”… The article said she was arrested too - by law, the police have 24 hours to either charge someone or release them. She was not charged, so this means that they must have released her.

She was meant to be going back the next way and she ran away instead. Hardly the behaviour of an innocent person.

I am curious why you are so determinedly defending a person you don't even know, in the face of palpable evidence to the contrary?

Lunde · 12/07/2025 23:45

Pianogirl1994 · 12/07/2025 23:12

Except that Winn is her maiden name and Raynor the family name. Lots of places in Wales, especially rural ones, are quite close knit so everyone knows everyone else.

Also, on her website and Wikipedia page (and in interviews), she made no secret as to their real names. So utterly traceable, one could argue…

You think that the little village in Wales knew the maiden names and family names of a family that moved their from England? I moved to a rural hamlet and have no idea of the maiden names of the farmers opposite

OP posts:
FurryHappyKittens · 12/07/2025 23:46

Are you for real? You sound like a troll.

I think @MrsKypp has hit the nail on the head.

Isn't there a saying about not feeding them?

DisappointedReader · 12/07/2025 23:50

A reminder that no troll hunting is allowed pathies.

Rather than bother MNHQ, please just do not engage with the pp if you are concerned.

OP posts:
Aspanielstolemysanity · 12/07/2025 23:50

Lunde · 12/07/2025 23:45

You think that the little village in Wales knew the maiden names and family names of a family that moved their from England? I moved to a rural hamlet and have no idea of the maiden names of the farmers opposite

I grew up in a rural hamlet and most days I can barely remember my own name never mind anyone else's Grin

Lunde · 12/07/2025 23:51

BadDinner · 12/07/2025 23:24

Is it not possible (are the exact details of this known? I admit to not having kept up with every single bit of info) that Sally Walker perceives her ex boss as having stitched her up for something she wasn't truly responsible for?

That might explain why she has presented herself and Moth as victims who were 'taken advantage of' by a 'swindler'

Let's say the accounting was a mess, and some mistake was genuinely made and you were accused of being responsible for the total loss, but there wasn't any way in which you could prove yourself not to have done it. So you feel if it went to court it would just be 'he said, she said' what can you do in such a situation? Let's say you did genuine F up. But not deliberately.

So let's say to avoid the stress a possible record and because you care about the people you used to work for, you take a loan to just make it go away.

You then feel you lost your home unfairly

I have some experience working for a small family business, and I swore I would never work for a small business again. It is not like working for a big corp where you feel no obligation beyond doing your job and can take a day off sick without knowing everyone will struggle with you missing and the shortfall is deftly dealt with. No, it's like the business is their baby or child. The pressure can be more focused. If someone falls short there isn't necessarily a backup person to filter the mistake, and the impact can be massive! In this family business I worked for, all invoices were paid months and months late, whilst things were acquisitioned. I never did the accounting thank god, but I dread to think if I did.

It does just sound odd to have been responsible for something like that and have the raw nerve to put yourself in the spotlight where it could inevitably be dug up.

And you still can't prove you weren't responsible now when a journalist comes sniffing around.

So she just "forgot" to pay in the cash to the bank that he handed her for staff wages?

It just so "happened" that someone falsified cheques and she didn't notice when she was doing the books?

She just decided to pay back £64,000 that she didn't owe, at 18% interest when she was innocent?

They just forgot that they owned land in France that could have been sold?

If you truly believe any of the above then I must introduce you to an African Prince who needs your help getting his millions out of the country and is prepared to give you a cut if you pay the fees of £5,000 ....😂

MrsKypp · 12/07/2025 23:52

DisappointedReader · 12/07/2025 23:50

A reminder that no troll hunting is allowed pathies.

Rather than bother MNHQ, please just do not engage with the pp if you are concerned.

I am waiting for @Pianogirl1994 to respond to my question to her/him. I'm not reporting anyone to MNHQ.

ThatFluentHedgehog · 12/07/2025 23:54

AldoGordo · 12/07/2025 23:44

I think you are misunderstanding pretty much why people are making a fuss...the book is based on many lies, undermining the entire story, which actually does upset some people. Yet you choose to believe the book in the face of objective evidence. Have you perhaps asked yourself why the paying back of missing money isn't mentioned in the book?

Edited

It feels like that PP is just pushing their point without listening... or reading the past discussion / absorbing (comprehending?) the linked articles.

@FurryHappyKittens summarised "the incident" – which was in fact systematic theft over several years – very well here:

She embezzled £64,000.
She forged cheques.
She didn't deposit cash from the business into the bank.
She made up invoices and paid herself.
How is any of that accidental?

Pianogirl1994 · 12/07/2025 23:55

Aspanielstolemysanity · 12/07/2025 23:44

She was meant to be going back the next way and she ran away instead. Hardly the behaviour of an innocent person.

I am curious why you are so determinedly defending a person you don't even know, in the face of palpable evidence to the contrary?

And where is the evidence of this? I’ve just re-read the article from the Observer and there is no mention of her “running away”.

Lunde · 12/07/2025 23:55

I presume that the Observer article tomorrow is going to be pretty damning given the sudden influx of deflectors trying to excuse stealing

Aspanielstolemysanity · 12/07/2025 23:57

Pianogirl1994 · 12/07/2025 23:55

And where is the evidence of this? I’ve just re-read the article from the Observer and there is no mention of her “running away”.

You need to read some more of the newspaper articles then

Lunde · 12/07/2025 23:57

Pianogirl1994 · 12/07/2025 23:55

And where is the evidence of this? I’ve just re-read the article from the Observer and there is no mention of her “running away”.

Try the article in the Times where the former neighbours talk about them running away at 2 am - just ahead of the authorities leaving a trail of debts and bounced cheques behind them

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