A report in The Observer disputes key aspects of the best-selling memoir billed as an “inspiring and life-affirming true story”.
Salt Path author Raynor Winn has said claims she lied about her story are “highly misleading” and called suggestions her husband made up his illness “utterly vile”.
A report in The Observer disputed key aspects of the hit book, billed as an “inspiring and life-affirming true story” about a couple’s coastal trek.
Winn released a lengthy statement denying the paper’s claims and shared medical letters sent to her husband, Moth, that appear to support a diagnosis for a rare neurological condition, Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD). One letter mentions his prior “CBS [Corticobasal Syndrome] diagnosis”, while another concludes she has “an atypical form” of CBD. The author said accusations that she lied about having CBD/CBS are false and have “emotionally devastated” him.
“I have charted Moth’s condition with such a level of honesty that this is the most unbearable of the allegations,” Winn wrote on her website. The Observer claimed to have spoken to experts who were “sceptical” about elements of his story, such as a “lack of acute symptoms and his apparent ability to reverse them”. PSPA, a charity that supports people with CBD, ended their relationship with the family following The Observer’s claims.
Winn said she had never suggested walking was “some sort of miracle cure” and that there can be “symptoms for many years before they finally reach a diagnosis”.
“Even then, many sufferers’ symptoms present in an atypical way,” she wrote.
“They might not present with the same symptoms, occurring in the same order, or with the same severity.”
Winn also posted the letters on Instagram and said they are grateful that Moth’s condition is slowly progressing. She clarified it is now commonly referred to by specialists as CBS, “which describes the symptoms observed during life”. The bestselling book was also recently released as a film, starring Jason Isaacs and Gillian Anderson, charting the couple’s 630-mile trek along the Cornish, Devon, and Dorset coast – a journey sparked by the devastation of losing their house.
he Observer claimed the portrayal of a failed investment in a friend’s business wasn’t true; rather, they lost their home after Raynor Winn embezzled money from her employer, Martin Heming, and had to borrow to pay it back and avoid police action. Winn’s statement said the dispute with Mr Hemmings wasn’t the reason they lost their home, but admitted she may have made “mistakes” while in the job.
“For me, it was a pressured time,” she wrote. “It was also a time when mistakes were being made in the business. Any mistakes I made during the years in that office, I deeply regret, and I am truly sorry.” She admitted being questioned by police but said she wasn’t charged. Winn added, “I settled with Martin Hemmings because I did not have the evidence required to support what happened. The terms of the settlement were willingly agreed upon by both parties.”
