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Nature holds the answers for Raynor and her husband Moth. After walking 630 homeless miles along The Salt Path, living on the windswept and wild English coastline; the cliffs, the sky and the chalky earth now feel like their home. Moth has a terminal diagnosis, but against all medical odds, he seems revitalized in nature. Together on the wild coastal path, with their feet firmly rooted outdoors, they discover that anything is possible. Now, life beyond The Salt Path awaits and they come back to four walls, but the sense of home is illusive and returning to normality is proving difficult – until an incredible gesture by someone who reads their story changes everything. A chance to breathe life back into a beautiful farmhouse nestled deep in the Cornish hills; rewilding the land and returning nature to its hedgerows becomes their saving grace and their new path to follow. The Wild Silence is a story of hope triumphing over despair, of lifelong love prevailing over everything. It is a luminous account of the human spirit's instinctive connection to nature, and how vital it is for us all.
Since travelling the South West Coastal Path, Raynor Winn has become a regular long-distance walker and writes about nature, homelessness and wild camping. She lives in Cornwall. The Salt Path was her first book and became a Sunday Times bestseller in hardback and paperback. It was shortlisted for numerous prizes including the Costa, the Wainwright and the Stanfords Travel Writing awards.
"Heartening and comforting [...] The nature writing is beautiful and it is a thrill to read. You feel the world is a better place because Raynor and Moth are in it"
– The Times
"Raynor Winn has written a brilliant, powerful and touching account of her life before and after The Salt Path, which, like her astonishing debut, will connect with anyone who has triumphed over adversity"
– Stephen Moss, author and naturalist
"A beautiful, luminous and magical piece of writing"
– Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
"Written in wise, unflinching, exquisite prose, this is a different kind of journey – into the past, into grief and also into Winn's search for connection. A spiritual journey instead of a physical one, and, for me at least, an even richer one"
– Rachel Joyce, author of Miss Benson's Beetle
"Deeply personal and spiritual in its exploration of the healing qualities of nature [...] Winn's writing transforms her surroundings and her spirits, her joy coming across clearly in her shimmering prose"
– i
"In this unflinching sequel to The Salt Path, nature provides solace against forebodings of mortality [...] there is a luminous conviction to the prose"
– Observer
"To follow Raynor Winn on her songline back to Cornwall is to know how it feels to walk yourself into the land you love and find peace at the end of the journey"
– Brian Jackman, travel journalist for The Sunday Times
"An uplifting, illuminating read"
– Daily Mirror
"Winn's soul-baring honesty and beautifully remembered, touching conversations will take your breath away"
– BBC Countryfile
"Notions of home are poignantly explored [...] Her evocations of weather, landscape, the sea and her love for her partner, Moth, who has an incurable neurodegenerative condition, are wonderful"
– Guardian
