By Steven McIntosh
The Salt Path has sold more than two million copies since its publication in March 2018, and a film adaptation starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs was released earlier this year.
In the book, Winn said she and her husband Moth lost a substantial sum of money after making a bad investment in a friend’s business, which left them liable for his debts when the company failed. She said it ultimately led to the couple losing their home.
Around the same time, Winn wrote, Moth was diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration (CBD), which usually has a life expectancy of around six to eight years.
Winn said after she and Moth became homeless and Moth was diagnosed, the couple decided to set off on the South West Coast Path.
The book documents the pair eventually walking the full 630-mile route, living off a small amount of money in weekly tax credits each week, and wild camping every night.
It describes the physical exhaustion but also rewarding nature of the walk, as well as their interactions with members of the public along the way.
The book ends with the couple getting a fresh start with the offer of new accommodation. As a result of the walk, Winn says her husband’s health improved, and he has now lived for 12 years since the diagnosis.
Winn has written two further books since The Salt Path – both of which also focus on themes of walking, nature, homelessness and wild camping – and has a fourth due to be published later this year.