The Salt Path

The story of a couple who lost everything and ventured out on the English coast

by Raynor Winn

4.4(38,434 ratings)

10 min read

Brief overview

This book follows Raynor Winn and her husband Moth as they traverse the South West Coast Path after losing their home and receiving a devastating medical diagnosis. It’s an inspiring story of resilience, love, and the unexpected healing found in nature’s raw edges. Through harsh weather, physical exhaustion, and endless wonder, they discover a renewed sense of purpose in each grueling step.

Introduction

The story begins with Raynor and Moth facing life-shattering news: they are about to lose their home, and Moth is diagnosed with a debilitating neurological disease. Despite the bleak outlook, they decide to set off on the South West Coast Path, hoping that walking might help them rediscover their footing—both literally and metaphorically. The couple’s sense of desperation immediately turns into a flicker of purpose: the simple, daring idea of walking over six hundred miles as a means to reconnect and keep living fully.

They have no real plan or sufficient resources, yet a guidebook leads them to trust that the path’s rhythm could offer them some semblance of stability. In these opening moments, we join them on their journey into an uncertain future, anchored only by each other and the untamed British coastline.

It’s a gripping setup that foreshadows how the challenges of homelessness and terminal illness collide with unyielding determination. From day one, they carry the heartbreak of loss alongside an undeniable spark of optimism that keeps them moving.

Losing Everything

Raynor and Moth’s life unravels when a legal case results in their eviction. At the same time, Moth’s doctors deliver a tragic prognosis: corticobasal degeneration. It’s a rare disease that attacks motor function and eventually the mind. Facing these back-to-back blows, the couple is forced to confront a new reality: no finances, no home, and a bleak medical timeline.

Unable to remain with friends and feeling burdensome, they decide to walk the Coast Path rather than succumb to despair. In many ways, the path represents a last stand, an act of defiance against an unjust circumstance. As they leave their former life behind, Raynor reconciles with the finality of losing the farm they poured years of work into.

“If I did cry, I’d give in to a river of pain that would wash me away.”

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What is The Salt Path about?

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn offers an honest look at how the human spirit can endure even when everything seems lost. After learning that her husband has a terminal illness and losing their home, Winn recounts their transformative trek along the South West Coast Path. Walking mile after mile across the rugged British coastline, they discover a surprising kind of healing in the face of despair.

This book illuminates themes of resilience, love, and hope in raw circumstances. Homelessness becomes more than a label; it’s a point of reckoning that tests their determination each day. By revealing nature’s power to restore courage, The Salt Path demonstrates how uncertainty can be met with steady, meaningful action.

Review of The Salt Path

The Salt Path stands out for its blend of vivid storytelling, compassionate insight, and tangible lessons on finding hope in dire times. Raynor Winn’s evocative descriptions of the coastline lend a clear sense of place, while her candid portrayal of financial struggle and illness provides a realistic look at life’s fragility. Readers will see how small acts—like rethinking material needs or taking another step—can nurture inner strength.

Winn’s writing style is both accessible and thoughtful, speaking directly to anyone coping with upheaval. Through her lens, we learn that even in hardship, there is room for growth, and solutions often emerge in simple daily practices. This memoir is highly recommended for its genuine perspective on adversity, showing that despite grim forecasts, the human drive to persevere can flourish in unexpected ways.

Who should read The Salt Path?

Leaders and managers seeking examples of resilience in challenging circumstances
People coping with chronic illness or caring for someone with a health condition
Nature enthusiasts and hikers who appreciate transformative travel narratives
Readers curious about personal finance struggles and alternative ways of living

About the author

Raynor Winn is a British long-distance walker and writer. She is the bestselling author of "The Salt Path," which won the inaugural RSL Christopher Bland Prize in 2019 and was shortlisted for the 2018 Costa Biography Award and the Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize. Her work has spent over 100 weeks in The Sunday Times Bestseller List, and she has sold over one million copies of her books internationally. She has also written "The Wild Silence" and "Landlines," both of which have been Sunday Times bestsellers.