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Book completed
Sep. 7th, 2023 12:35 amThe Salt Path, by Raynor Winn. I mentioned that I'd been reading an interesting book about a British couple, and here it is. A few weeks ago I was watching an episode of Coastal Britain, in which Kate Humble does walks around the British coast, and in the Exmoor episode she met Raynor Winn, who briefly told her story, so I got her book from the library to read it in more detail.
Raynor Winn and her husband Moth had lived on a farm in Wales for 20 years, until Moth invested in the business of a childhood friend, which went under, and then the "friend" sued to get Moth to pay his debts too, and thus Moth and Raynor lost their farm, which had been their business (hosting vacationers). The next day of their lives was worse! Moth had been experiencing severe shoulder pain and other neurological symptoms for about six years, and the day after their court case ended, his doctor told him he had a disease called corticobasal degeneration (if I'm remembering correctly), for which there is no cure, and that people with the disease typically die within six years of symptom onset. So, although he wasn't on the verge of death at that moment, because the disease was obviously taking a slower course with him, he could expect gradual organ failure and dementia and death, which was quite a shock, as he was then only about 50.
Suddenly homeless, and with her beloved husband dealing with a terminal disease, Raynor's idea was - let's hike the southwest coast of Britain. (!!!) Moth could barely get up out of a chair, but he was game. They packed their backpacks each with about 17 lbs of gear (including a very flimsy tent and sleeping bags), and they set off. They started in Somerset and headed toward Land's End and then back along the south coast - more than 600 miles. And Moth got better! Later, the winter cold was making him worse, so they went inland to live with a friend for a few months, and his condition got much worse. A doctor insisted that the hiking had shortened his life, but they knew otherwise. Eventually they returned to their hike, and within two weeks, Moth was considerably better again. Meanwhile, there are lots of interesting descriptions of the coastal landscapes and their experiences with others. (Mentioning that they were homeless tended to cause otherwise friendly people to back away, but amusingly, some people insisted that Moth must be the poet Simon Armitage, who looks nothing like him.)
At the end of their travels, Raynor wrote this book, her first, and it became an international bestseller. It was published five years ago. Since then, they did another hike from the north to the south of Britain, which I think also has a book. Wikipedia says she's now 60-61, and Moth is presumably the same age, and I found a link to an April 2023 charity hike they were doing to raise funds for the disease he has, so he was still doing pretty well just a few months ago . (And as you can see from the link, he's very good-looking.) I enjoyed her writing and the book.
Raynor Winn and her husband Moth had lived on a farm in Wales for 20 years, until Moth invested in the business of a childhood friend, which went under, and then the "friend" sued to get Moth to pay his debts too, and thus Moth and Raynor lost their farm, which had been their business (hosting vacationers). The next day of their lives was worse! Moth had been experiencing severe shoulder pain and other neurological symptoms for about six years, and the day after their court case ended, his doctor told him he had a disease called corticobasal degeneration (if I'm remembering correctly), for which there is no cure, and that people with the disease typically die within six years of symptom onset. So, although he wasn't on the verge of death at that moment, because the disease was obviously taking a slower course with him, he could expect gradual organ failure and dementia and death, which was quite a shock, as he was then only about 50.
Suddenly homeless, and with her beloved husband dealing with a terminal disease, Raynor's idea was - let's hike the southwest coast of Britain. (!!!) Moth could barely get up out of a chair, but he was game. They packed their backpacks each with about 17 lbs of gear (including a very flimsy tent and sleeping bags), and they set off. They started in Somerset and headed toward Land's End and then back along the south coast - more than 600 miles. And Moth got better! Later, the winter cold was making him worse, so they went inland to live with a friend for a few months, and his condition got much worse. A doctor insisted that the hiking had shortened his life, but they knew otherwise. Eventually they returned to their hike, and within two weeks, Moth was considerably better again. Meanwhile, there are lots of interesting descriptions of the coastal landscapes and their experiences with others. (Mentioning that they were homeless tended to cause otherwise friendly people to back away, but amusingly, some people insisted that Moth must be the poet Simon Armitage, who looks nothing like him.)
At the end of their travels, Raynor wrote this book, her first, and it became an international bestseller. It was published five years ago. Since then, they did another hike from the north to the south of Britain, which I think also has a book. Wikipedia says she's now 60-61, and Moth is presumably the same age, and I found a link to an April 2023 charity hike they were doing to raise funds for the disease he has, so he was still doing pretty well just a few months ago . (And as you can see from the link, he's very good-looking.) I enjoyed her writing and the book.