The author of The Salt Path has defended herself against allegations that elements of her bestselling memoir were fabricated.
Raynor Winn has described enduring some of the “hardest days” of her life amid claims she misrepresented events detailed in the 2018 book, which has sold more than two million copies worldwide.
The Salt Path, which was adapted into a film starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs, tells how Raynor — whose real name is Sally Walker — and her husband trekked 630-miles along the south-west coast path after losing their home due to a bad investment in a friend’s business.
It also recounts how Moth — whose real name is Timothy — was diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration, a neurological condition.
But an investigation by The Observer alleged that Raynor misrepresented events that led to the couple losing their property in Wales.
It suggested the pair lost their home because Raynor stole thousands of pounds from her employer.
Experts have also cast doubt over Moth having CBD, which is in the same family as Parkinson's disease, and his apparent ability to reverse symptoms.
However, Raynor, 63, on Wednesday said the reports have been "heartbreaking" and left the couple "devastated".
She shared clinic letters to her 80,000 Instagram followers seemingly addressed to Timothy, which she said showed that “he is treated for CBD/S and has been for many years”.
In a statement on her website, Raynor said that the article published on Sunday was “grotesquely unfair, highly misleading and seeks to systematically pick apart my life”.
She added: “It’s not about every event or moment in our lives, but rather about a capsule of time when our lives moved from a place of complete despair to a place of hope.
“The journey held within those pages is one of salt and weather, of pain and possibility. And I can’t allow any more doubt to be cast on the validity of those memories, or the joy they have given so many.”
Penguin Random House, which publishes The Salt Path, said it “undertook all the necessary pre-publication due diligence” prior to distributing.
PSPA, a health charity that supports people with CBD and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, recently confirmed it had “terminated” its relationship with the couple.
