THE SALT PATH

 

In the middle of this chaotic disconnected year (COVID) I read a most fascinating book. It isn’t often that I write about a book that has touched our hearts. I am reminded of the book, Boys in the Boat, as it is so descriptive, you are there with them on their arduous journey. 

 In THE SALT PATH  the writing is so alive with Raynor Winn painting pictures (with words) of landscape, their encounters with others, and the physical and mental pain both she and her husband, Moth suffer.

Their journey begins when they discover that Moth, then 53, is terminally ill with corticobasal degeneration and given about two years to live.

Then their home is taken away from them and they find themselves penniless and homeless. With no real options before them, they decide to walk the 630 miles along the South West Coast Path (England).

They buy cheap tents, sleeping bags and set off with the bare minimum they need to live with, carrying everything. Wild camping in some of the most beautiful scenery in Britain, their trip becomes not just a physical one but a spiritual one. Her writing is at times pure poetry. She is brutally honest in her emotions, as she comes to grips with their day by day plight.

They live day to day, struggling with Moth's illness, the sometimes inclement weather, having no money, no plan and no future.This is a tale of discovery, of how much one can succeed in the face of adversity, and of how strong the human spirit is.

Raynor’s love for Moth and the land clearly shines through in her writing. This is a book about loss,  determination, love, and ultimately it is one about hope. 

When you write a brilliant book as The Salt Path it is always going to be a hard act to follow.  And although THE WILD SILENCE is, in many ways excellent, with Raynor's  descriptions and knowledge of the natural world, her understanding of her own mixed emotions regarding Moth's illness and their return to a life not 'on the path', this is much slower reading, though no less compelling.

Thanks to a generous offer to change their life-style, they are no longer homeless and Moth's health continues to defy the predictions of doctors.  I won't ruin your experience, except to say the new land for them was once inhabited by monks.

The last part of the book deals with a most difficult walk in Iceland,  which I felt could have been abbreviated, with Raynor concentrating more on their life on their new farm.

 Both books are highly recommended and would give book clubs many topics for discussion.

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