I brought two new books back with me from Cornwall: The Salt Path, purchased at the Falmouth Bookshop, and Sea Fever, bought at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall. I began Sea Fever on a stormy evening in Maenporth, even reading parts aloud to my youngest (who probably wasn’t listening), as its rich blend of accounts, facts, and famous sea fiction is so brilliantly woven together. It chimed with a more recent retelling of a sea journey a friend of my daughter had made from Norway to Ipswich, a voyage that challenged the crew’s wits and resilience in the face of the mighty sea.
The Salt Path is something else entirely: a story of lived experience that is incredible, heart-wrenching, almost impossible to contemplate—and yet beautiful, funny, and utterly compelling. Raynor Winn’s account of her walk along the South West Coast Path with her husband, Moth, after losing almost everything they owned, including their family home, through the treachery of a friend, reads like a rite of passage. Surviving on barely any money, with Moth’s ill health looming large on their horizon, Raynor captures the geography of the path and evokes the wildness and romance of the counties they pass through while facing hardship and homelessness.
She broaches the concept of homelessness in a way that challenges preconceptions, asking the reader to consider the morality of a society that still refuses to tackle homelessness with genuine understanding of its causes, or compassion for its victims. There is a vulnerable faith in the kindness of strangers throughout this journey, as humour and hazard walk hand in hand in this extraordinary book. And what a gift it is to witness such an enduring love; that alone is reason enough to read it.
Post Script
Since writing this, there has been a great deal of controversy about the author and the validity of her story as a 'true story' with facts being questioned and dirt dug up in a way that has probably kept this book selling beyond expectation! I stand by the power of this book to evoke, challenge and inspire. Whether fact or fiction, it is a great read and stands out as compelling storytelling.