By Lena McMillan, Family Support Development Officer
This is the true story of Raynor and Moth Winn, a couple in their fifties, who have been together for over 30 years.
A devastatingly unjust court case leaves them virtually penniless, without a home or livelihood, just days after learning Moth has a rare, degenerative disease. Faced with uncertain prospects, Moth and Raynor choose to embark on a 630-mile walk on the South West Coast path, wild camping along the way.
The book describes their journey, encompassing their surroundings; the elements of the weather; the realities of wild camping; their experience of living in poverty and getting by on very little; and their relationship.
Ultimately, this is a book of courage, hope, resilience and love: keeping going in the face of great adversity.
Our group rated this book at 6.8 out of 10.
Most of our readers thought it was well written, with beautiful descriptions, although one reader found it too descriptive and another said they found it boring and ended up skimming lots of paragraphs. The themes we discussed included age – the ageism they experienced along the path being highlighted; homelessness; freedom; friendship; their relationship and grief and loss.
The book’s emotional impact resonated with all of our readers, with people connecting with it in many different ways, from memories of camping and walking to times spent in the areas they walked in and more personal reflections on challenges faced in the past.
Some comments from our group:
‘Beautiful, heartbreaking, captivating… I was totally rooting for them.’
‘It made me cry a few times; it caught me out.’
‘It was alive, I felt that I was walking with them, trudging along.’
‘The book gave lots of hope: from dreadful circumstances to being so brave to get up and go – never crossed their minds to give up.’
‘Thought I would have enjoyed it more but I liked the life lessons in there about homelessness and being grateful for what we’ve got.’
‘I appreciated their courage but I find it boring and repetitive in places – walk, camp, pee or poo in the wild, eat not very much and get up and do it all over again.’