The Salt Path: A Long Walk From the Truth
2/23/202654 min
In 2018, a previously unknown writer named Sally Walker became a literary sensation in the UK under the pseudonym Raynor Winn. Her memoir – a stirring account of walking the South West Coast Path with her terminally ill husband – struck a cultural nerve. It was gritty, inspirational, and defiantly hopeful. Readers embraced its message of resilience and redemption, and the book went on to generate more than $12 million in sales. But as “Raynor Winn’s” star rises, people from Sally’s past begin to recognize her – and question the story that made her famous. And the deeper journalists and skeptics begin to dig, the mo...
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First 90 secondsGillian Anderson· Soundbite0:00
[upbeat music] Wondering.
Sachi Cole· Host0:04
Sarah, I know you're a big reader, but have you ever read an inspiring memoir of human perseverance and thought, "I don't know if all that actually happened?"
Sarah Hagi· Host0:18
Um, well, thank you for calling me a big reader- [laughing] ... first of all, 'cause- In public. I am. [upbeat music] And yeah, I think I definitely have, and one of them was A Million Little Pieces, famously Oprah's Book Club pick that was debunked. I remember reading it as a teenager and being like, "Guess this is how life is." And also, Go Ask Alice.
Sachi Cole· Host0:42
That was a seminal one for our age group.
Sarah Hagi· Host0:45
And not true at all.
Sachi Cole· Host0:47
Well, I kind of feel that way anytime anyone talks about, like, climbing up a mountain. Like, "No, you didn't. Prove it, loser."
Sarah Hagi· Host0:54
I agree. I mean, I'll take your word for it, but doesn't sound like you did all that.
Sachi Cole· Host0:59
Well, I ask because today, I have a really delicious merger of some of our niche interests: literary frauds, financial scams, and someone pretending they're more noble than they actually are. [upbeat music] It's September 2024, and actress Gillian Anderson is walking the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival for the world premiere of her newest movie, The Salt Path. Gillian looks glamorous. Her blonde hair is blown out, and her