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bookwormcat's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Terminal illness
stephen_reads's review against another edition
fast-paced
2.0
Originally gave this 2.75 but knocked it down to 2 when I remembered the author described a holiday park as a concentration camp.
I have mixed feelings about this book.
I wish there had been more focus on the walk itself, the coast, the landscape, history, geography.
Instead, it’s a memoir written by a woman in a messy midlife crisis coping with anticipatory grief after the terminal diagnosis of her husband.
There were moments of gold in here, but I found a lot of the narrative far too vague, and the author’s thoughts are often irritating or fragmented. I found her struggle to describe herself as homeless because she didn’t want to be seen as one of *those* homeless people a little strange and self-pitying. I found the whole arc involving strangers mistaking her husband for Simon Armitage bizarre, unbelievable, and distracting. The opening chapter where she describes avoiding a court summons for 3 years then being surprised when the judge makes a ruling and refuses to allow her to drag out the case any further started a chain of frustrating events. She lacks so much self-awareness. So many sections of her describing her rotten toenail or going to the toilet in a field, I just don’t understand what this woman was trying to communicate at all.
Her battle with her husband’s medical issues turns into a strange embracing of alternative medicine, her belief that she’s found a cure for an incurable disease by walking in nature and therefore all the doctors and medical professionals are wrong was offputting. The husband is still alive at the end of the book (and that’s a good thing of course) but it just added to the strange conclusion the author had come to; hospitals = bad, nature = good. The book petered out and then just stopped because there was no real conclusion.
Also the author is downright nasty at times. Judgemental of tourists and outsiders as ruining the traditional landscape (even though she herself is a visitor to these places), judgemental of various young people she comes across for being stupid/young/in love, judgemental of addicts and rough sleepers (EVEN THOUGH SHE HERSELF IS A ROUGH SLEEPER), judgemental of other backpackers for having expensive gear or nicer tents (just came across as irritating jealousy), judgemental of a group of old women that she eavesdrops on that she sees as gossipy, she steals from small businesses because she thinks she’s entitled to (after going on a tangent about how the small local businesses struggle), and then the concentration camp comment. This woman is unlikeable and unpleasant at times. Her judgemental dark-sided streak comes out a lot.
It was an intriguing personal journey, well-written and fast-paced, but I wanted more of “the salt path” itself and less internal monologue of self-discovery with vague sweeping statements about what it means to be alive.
Also: everything is always “steaming”. They’re sweating and their clothes start steaming, it rains and they warm up by the fire and start steaming, the cows are steaming, the tea is steaming, the dew is steaming. She just loves the word steaming.
I have mixed feelings about this book.
I wish there had been more focus on the walk itself, the coast, the landscape, history, geography.
Instead, it’s a memoir written by a woman in a messy midlife crisis coping with anticipatory grief after the terminal diagnosis of her husband.
There were moments of gold in here, but I found a lot of the narrative far too vague, and the author’s thoughts are often irritating or fragmented. I found her struggle to describe herself as homeless because she didn’t want to be seen as one of *those* homeless people a little strange and self-pitying. I found the whole arc involving strangers mistaking her husband for Simon Armitage bizarre, unbelievable, and distracting. The opening chapter where she describes avoiding a court summons for 3 years then being surprised when the judge makes a ruling and refuses to allow her to drag out the case any further started a chain of frustrating events. She lacks so much self-awareness. So many sections of her describing her rotten toenail or going to the toilet in a field, I just don’t understand what this woman was trying to communicate at all.
Her battle with her husband’s medical issues turns into a strange embracing of alternative medicine, her belief that she’s found a cure for an incurable disease by walking in nature and therefore all the doctors and medical professionals are wrong was offputting. The husband is still alive at the end of the book (and that’s a good thing of course) but it just added to the strange conclusion the author had come to; hospitals = bad, nature = good. The book petered out and then just stopped because there was no real conclusion.
Also the author is downright nasty at times. Judgemental of tourists and outsiders as ruining the traditional landscape (even though she herself is a visitor to these places), judgemental of various young people she comes across for being stupid/young/in love, judgemental of addicts and rough sleepers (EVEN THOUGH SHE HERSELF IS A ROUGH SLEEPER), judgemental of other backpackers for having expensive gear or nicer tents (just came across as irritating jealousy), judgemental of a group of old women that she eavesdrops on that she sees as gossipy, she steals from small businesses because she thinks she’s entitled to (after going on a tangent about how the small local businesses struggle), and then the concentration camp comment. This woman is unlikeable and unpleasant at times. Her judgemental dark-sided streak comes out a lot.
It was an intriguing personal journey, well-written and fast-paced, but I wanted more of “the salt path” itself and less internal monologue of self-discovery with vague sweeping statements about what it means to be alive.
Also: everything is always “steaming”. They’re sweating and their clothes start steaming, it rains and they warm up by the fire and start steaming, the cows are steaming, the tea is steaming, the dew is steaming. She just loves the word steaming.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
inkysplodge's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Grief, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Vomit
hannahbailey's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
I felt like I could finally stop and think when reading this memoir. I loved the writing style: descriptive and atmospheric but kept you firmly planted in the reality of it. I loved how Winn explored the impact her journey was having on her in conjunction with snippets from her past and hopes for the future. It was a very thoughtful and inspiring read.
I was completely swept up in the nature and their journey along the path-- it made me appreciate nature so much. The world is so beautiful! We are so lucky to be surrounded by such a rich and giving environment. Note to self: must spend more time outside!
I was completely swept up in the nature and their journey along the path-- it made me appreciate nature so much. The world is so beautiful! We are so lucky to be surrounded by such a rich and giving environment. Note to self: must spend more time outside!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
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