Author of bestselling memoir The Salt Path accused of lying | Books

It has been one of many movies of the summer time thus far – the story of Raynor Winn and her husband Moth, who embark on the 630-mile South West Coast Path stroll after their home is repossessed and Moth is recognized with a terminal sickness.There was virtually common reward for the life-affirming story of The Salt Path, which has gained rave opinions from critics. Till now.On Sunday, The Observer revealed an investigation which made a collection of claims in regards to the creator of the best-selling e book on which the movie relies.The report alleged that Winn took tens of hundreds from a former employer, and suggests she lied about being made homeless and in regards to the circumstances below which the couple’s home was repossessed within the memoir. It additionally solid doubt over the legitimacy of Moth’s analysis.Contacted by The Guardian, Winn stated the Observer report was “extremely deceptive”.“We’re taking authorized recommendation and gained’t be making any additional remark presently.“The Salt Path lays naked the bodily and religious journey Moth and I shared, an expertise that remodeled us utterly and altered the course of our lives. That is the true story of our journey.”Raynor Winn – whose actual title is Sally Walker, based on the report – took “round £64,000” from an property company and property surveyor the place she labored as a bookkeeper. Walker was subsequently arrested, stated the spouse of the enterprise proprietor.The Salt Path describes the couple dropping their house after investing a “substantial sum” within the enterprise of a childhood buddy of Moth – whose actual title is Tim Walker, based on the Observer – which subsequently failed. In line with Winn, the buddy claimed the couple have been liable for firm money owed, and took them to court docket, the place the choose ordered the repossession of their home.Nevertheless, it’s claimed the Walkers’ home was actually repossessed after the couple didn’t pay again a mortgage used to cowl the cash Walker took from the property company, based on the investigation. The Walkers borrowed £100,000 from a distant relative of Tim’s, and the mortgage was secured in opposition to their home.It’s alleged that the relative additionally helped Walker get a solicitor, who approached her former employer, Martin, with the supply that she would pay again the cash and canopy authorized prices. The Observer claimed that Martin additionally agreed to signal a non-disclosure settlement, and that no prison expenses have been pursued in opposition to Walker.Tim’s relative’s enterprise failed, and the Walkers’ home was finally repossessed in June 2013. But, whereas Winn depicts the couple as being made “homeless” and having nowhere to go, paperwork seen by the Observer present that the Walkers purchased a home in France in 2007, which they nonetheless personal.The investigation additionally casts scepticism over Moth’s analysis of corticobasal degeneration (CBD), which he has apparently lived with for 18 years. Michele Hu, a professor of scientific neurosciences at Oxford College named within the report, stated that she could be “very sceptical” that it’s CBD. “I’ve by no means taken care of anybody that’s lived that lengthy.”Following The Salt Path, Winn revealed two additional books, The Wild Silence and Landlines. Every of the books opens with Moth affected by the signs of CBD, earlier than the couple go on a troublesome stroll and Moth’s signs appear to enhance.The Salt Path has offered greater than two million copies worldwide since its publication in 2018. Final month, a movie adaptation starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs was launched within the UK.“The movie is a devoted adaptation of the e book that we optioned,” stated Quantity 9 Movies and Shadowplay Options, the 2 manufacturing firms behind the movie. “The allegations made within the Observer relate to the e book and are a matter for the creator Raynor Winn. There have been no recognized claims in opposition to the e book on the time of optioning it or producing and distributing the movie and we undertook all mandatory due diligence earlier than buying the e book.”A fourth e book by Winn, On Winter Hill, is scheduled to be launched in October. Michael Joseph, the Penguin imprint that publishes Winn’s memoirs, didn’t remark or reply when requested whether or not the publication of On Winter Hill would go forward.PSPA, a charity which helps folks with CBD and had labored with the Winns, has now ended its relationship with the household, based on the BBC. Winn has additionally withdrawn from the forthcoming Saltlines tour, on which she was scheduled to look alongside The Gigspanner Massive Band at a lot of UK venues.