Thread 18: To feel disappointed after reading this in The Observer about the author and her husband from The Salt Path book and film?

[DisappointedReader]

Hello all. I've simplified the opening post as I don't think we need to keep reposting all the links, timelines and so on at this stage of proceedings.

The Observer's original exposé: The real Salt Path: how a blockbuster book and film were ...
First thread: To feel disappointed after reading this in The Observer about the author and her husband from The Salt Path book and film? | Mumsnet
Links to threads 2-16, the other 20 Observer articles and videos to date, Raynor Winn/Sally Walker's statement, our timeline and sources can all be accessed in the OP and first few posts of Thread 17: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5403285-thread-17-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?

New posters joining us in the genuine spirit of our civil discourse are welcome. It would be helpful to get the background from at least some of the Observer exposé items before posting.
To all - Please be extremely cautious when it comes to naming or implicating people and addresses not in the public eye or with no direct connection to the story, and around the understandable health speculations, especially where details are unclear or still emerging. Remember, even Hollywood rabbits attract the odd flea. Please do not engage with drive-by scolders who seem to have their own agenda and seek to derail. Avoid @'ing and quoting them as - from experience - this will only encourage them back to the threads. We have done amazingly well together for 17 very interesting, very serious and very silly threads so far. I can't be here as much as I'd like so all help with keeping our discussion walking along in our usual reasonable and respectful fashion is very welcome.

Now three months in, if these threads could wear slogan t-shirts they would be Mark Twain's often misquoted 'The report of my death was an exaggeration'. Applications in writing from correspondents seeking supply parcels of fudge and cider will be tolerated.

Here we are again
Disappointed as can be
All good pals and jolly good company
Strolling round the path
Happy on a spree
All good pals and jolly good company

Never mind the weather, never mind the rain
Now that we're together, whoops we go again!
Whoops, we go again
La-di-da-di-da, la-di-da-di-dee
All good pals and jolly good company

Keep to the path. No saltiness. May the fudge and cider be with you.

The gift was a holiday to Rome

Yes, there does appear to be a particular lack of critical thinking by some, which is exactly who SW wanted to reel in with her statement. Of course, i'm sure she thought many more people would buy her statement at face value to avert the "misleading narrative" from our Chloe. Evidence of this delusion is the fact she supplied us with medical letters that, in her mind, vindicated her, whereas in fact the letters are evidence of significant lies.

Oh spot on @SimoArmo smoke and mirrors.

"When you tell a story, the first person you must convince is yourself; if you can make yourself believe it’s true, then everyone else will follow."

Indeed! The problem with this quote of RW's, it seems, is that "everyone will follow". Sure, it worked for 7 years, despite a few reviews that couldn't get on board. I don't doubt her level of self-belief. But with that self-belief she was blind to how easily the lie could unravel.

That’s because she’s arrogant. She doesn’t care about people. She had the women at Penguin believing in her naive country bumpkin shtick. That book had been in the pipeline for years, not a series of jotted notes for her husband before he lost his memory. He hadn’t been told at that point that he was even going to lose his memory. She knew what type of book to write and who her readers were and she wrote to them on the page, like a friend. On the page she’s asking to be comforted and loved, given a hug and a morale boost from her readers. It’s all about her in the book and the terrible time she is going through emotionally. Moth could be anybody’s husband.

Did she cheer up at all when she became a rich and famous author?

Not that I can see: 2025 v 2015!

Moth on Raynor
When she gets angry she’ll take a sharp intake of breath and that’s the sign you’re in for a tough time. Even Monty the dog hides

Poor little Monty 😞

With both TSP, and now The Penguin Lessons, it would seem that it took a film, or news of a film, with high-profile actors, for it to be questioned.

That sentence: "When you tell a story, the first person you must convince is yourself; if you can make yourself believe it’s true, then everyone else will follow", is there cocking a snook at everyone, early on in the book.

You think of all the articles, interviews, reviews we've seen where it is all unquestioned and praised. As a comment I shared previously said this is a "niche grift" ...."performance art"....

It takes a film because that is where the wider audience is. Many people don't read and the world of books is a closed little niche to them.If someone complains about a book, the response is 'well don't read it then.' It's as though books are in a self contained corner - they don't affect anyone except the reader and most authors wouldn't be recognised on the street.

Make a film of a book and suddenly it's all out there. Trailers are being played on TV, there are billboards, and the sides of buses and railway stations are plastered in images from the film.It's public. And THAT is when people start taking notice. Also happens when a book is turned into a TV series.

Many of us authors say that you aren't 'real' until you've been on TV. People don't care about people who've written books - but if they've seen you on TV suddenly you're a Big Name. Also works for people who are on TV and then write books - see all celebrity authors who sell far better than others in their genre even if the books are rubbish. The public know your face - you must be a genius.

Going back to Timmoth's healthy appearance -

Early in this series of threads, I was shouted down (as were others) on the grounds that "not all illnesses are visible".

Of course, that's true. But I worked as a doctor for over 35 years and you certainly hone your skills in that time; and there are lots of visible clues to someone's health and wellbeing.

Without even thinking about it, I mentally check out a person's presentation (eg does TW look like an elderly tramp!?), their demeanour, their facial expression. What is their stance and gait like? Are there any mobility aids in use, or nearby? Is their facial complexion the sort of shade and tone that one would expect? Do they look substantially older or younger than their age? Any muscle wasting? Etc. All this is before the person utters a word

And I stand by my guns. In these photos (which are obviously not the best way to do an assessment, but a series over years offers a lot of clues), Timmoth does not look like a man with a chronic illness causing mobility issues.

When I started at medical school, and before we were allowed to lay a finger on a patient, we were taught to just stand back and spend a moment looking at the person. Old habits die hard! Sadly, I think that today's busy NHS doesn't offer clinicians the luxury of time to do this!

Yes. It just makes so little sense as something to do if you are in the sort of finacial mire they were that I wondered if they thought a "publically announced" gift of a holiday could circumvent any questions about money being sent to their son if a paper trail was followed. I'm probably wrong, I can't remember if there were pictures of eg plane tickets on his Insta.

There's never any 'paper' - not at the right time anyway!

"a piece of paper that proved that Cooper had no right to make the claim, as we didn’t owe anything. After three years and ten court appearances, we had the evidence that could save our home. We’d sent copies to the judge and the claimant’s barrister. We were ready. I wore my leather jacket, I was so kick-ass confident."
------
"I reached a settlement with Martin Hemmings because I did not have the evidence required to support what happened."

It was said that local businesses in Pwllheli had 'paper', cheques used to pay for shopping - with Mr Hemmings' 'signature' on them.

Many of us authors say that you aren't 'real' until you've been on TV. People don't care about people who've written books - but if they've seen you on TV suddenly you're a Big Name

Thanks @Vroomfondleswaistcoat . It certainly seems to apply to Salray. If you think of eg Ann Cleeves, who has been incredibly successful in real terms with many books and TV adapations like Shetland and Vera, I couldn't have told you what she looked like until I just Googled. I knew what Salray looked like without having read the book, before the scandal broke. There was certainly a LOT of publicity and interest generated with them as central "characters" and that is why the deceptions matter, because it wasn't supposed to be fiction.

This woman has no bloody shame does she?
Honestly! It’s stuff like this that really makes a mockery of anybody who genuinely suffers, is in genuine dire straits through no fault of their own … and in her own words had “a beacon of hope” after reading her books.

DH is watching "Rick Stein's Cornwall" in another room, I'm doing something else. The opening credits were just noise until a murmured "History in a glass" made my ears go up.

I think we're all now programmed like Pavlov's dogs to pick up on things Raymoth related.

There’s a journalist asking on an Abersoch Facebook group about who owned the White House Hotel in the early 2000’s. He’s posted three times but not getting much help
https://www.facebook.com/groups/544286782877787/permalink/1777094326263687/?

That's interesting, it sounds a bit niche, unless pursuing the Raymoth connection.

Would there be a market for a book about The Salt Path controversy with more background info on Raymoth and other back stories? I'm thinking something along the lines of Michael Crick's biography of Jeffrey Archer - Stranger than Fiction.

I think there could be a market for a book about delulu memoir writers who think the truth will never catch up with them. Sadly, there seem to be a few of them around.

Possibly teamed with an expose of how little publishing houses actually investigate before publishing these books and how authors might get 'pushed' into writing books that don't directly reflect their experiences because agents or publishers ask them to 'massage' their story to make it more saleable and likely to hit the best seller lists.

I’d be careful of saying things like that because SW is the type to use that in her defence. It would be yet another excuse for her supposed innocence. I still don’t think she was pushed or asked to massage anything. Her books are filled with the exact same melodramatic tone as their predecessor HNTDDD. As I said before, I believe she’d been researching the genre and writing for years and it paid off. She’s obviously a con artist and knows how to emotionally manipulate people. A pp, I think Shrinkwrappedinseattle said she was a pathological liar and I agree with that. I can’t compare her with other respectable authors who may have found themselves in the sort of predicament you describe. I can agree that they invested in her as a package that they knew would be a winner because that’s their job, but I don’t think they told her what or how to write. Can you even imagine someone as arrogant as SW listening if they did?Somehow, irrational decisions and grief stricken emotional outpourings coupled with steely determination, seem authentic and nobody questions it, they’re too stunned. The supposed authenticity was the big seller. The follow up books were snapped up because people’s natural curiosity makes them want to know what happens next and Google didn’t really have any answers. She only puts their private lives (fictional) into the books, reiterates those words for every interview and never leaves the script. If you want to know what happened to Moth, you have to read her books.