Welcome to Litsy!

My April #bookspin. Every month I look forward to the numbers and every month I make a fun list, but I haven‘t been posting them. Litsy is a wonderful refuge in these turbulent times; it‘s always good to check in. Getting ready to start the tagged book!

Really enjoyed this memoir of a couple who lose everything that matters (their house, his health) except each other. They walk the southwest coast of England when they nowhere else to go or nothing to do. I am going to read the sequel immediately and look forward to the movie coming out based on the book.

Walking the South West Coast Path while sitting in an sirport waiting for our flight 🏡
#whereareyouMonday
@Cupcake12

While I am glad they were able to spend more time together, I can‘t imagine the risks they ran or how much pain her husband was in at the beginning of each walk. Sometimes the tone felt very incongruous to the situation. I completely understood why people backed off in many cases when they learned the couple were homeless. No one likes to be reminded of how close we are to being homeless ourselves or of our mortality.

'Excited, afraid, homeless, fat, dying, but at least if we made that first step we had somewhere to go, we had a purpose. And we really didn't have anything better to do at half past three on a Thursday afternoon than to start a 630-mile walk.'

#bookspin for October - LOVED this! So sad, yet uplifting, really makes me want to walk the south west coast path one day!

#hauntedshelf #skeletoncrew

#AboutABook #August
#fromTBR list
@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

After a devastating medical diagnosis, Raynor & her husband Moth also lose their home & their livelihood. They choose to hike The Salt Path, a hiking trail along the southern coast of England.

Such a tough listen, w/ Moth‘s diagnosis of corticobasal degeneration, their sudden homelessness, & their experiences dealing w/ people‘s biases against the unhoused. But Raynor‘s voice is strong & hopeful, & visceral in painting the landscape. 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

Through hardship and uncertainty, Raynor's words painted a picture of strength in adversity, of finding solace in the simple beauty of the natural world. With each step, I felt the wind on my face, tasted the salt in the air, and reveled in the freedom of the open road....
Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6396732738

Walked into the Barnes and Noble with only two things on my list, and walked out with only one extra thing! 🎉🎉🎉

Sometimes a book finds its way into your hands at just the right time. Dealing with my own diagnosis, this book, was uplifting without being sentimental and inspired me to push against the single story of disability. A memoir telling the story of a couple who lost everything and walked the 600+ miles Coast Path in SW England. I loved the descriptions of the coast path and the people they met along the way. A movie is in production right now. 5 ⭐️

I wanted you to see my lovely tea towel in the wild, @Chrissyreadit ! I‘ll dive back into my book stacks later, but right now it‘s time to head out for euchre with our besties. We play every weekend, and today it‘s a special birthday edition. Mine! Here‘s to a good Sunday littens, and if you‘re a mitten litten keep an eye on the weather!

Starting a new book today.
The Salt Path by Raynor Winn.

#joysofjune #readathon
@Andrew65

Enjoyed the story. But felt they were cheating here and there for taking the bus sometimes instead of walking. Also could have done without the talk about the homeless, or how she kept describing their own appearance as homeless. Did not always believe people reacted as negatively as the author told they did.

TBR since 20/2/23; 318 pages.

Currently reading this book that @jenniferw88 gave me for my birthday🥰 very interesting story about a couple who lost their home and decided to just start walking a coastline trail with the little money they have left. I‘m curious to see where the journey leads them!

@jenniferw88 I assume this one is from you? Thank you so very very much! It sounds intriguing 🥰

I went into this somehow thinking it was a novel. As Raynor and Moth lose their farm due to financial difficulties (or maybe got conned by a friend), then he gets a dire medical diagnosis I was thinking there wasn‘t much more the author could put them through. Then I realized I was reading a memoir. Ouch!

With nothing left to lose they decide to walk the South West Coast Path, camping the whole way.

A remarkable journey. Unexpectedly beautiful.

Raynor & husband, Moth, lose their house & entire livelihood in a stroke of extremely bad luck. Added to this is Moth's diagnosis of corticobasal degeneration - a rare condition that causes worsening problems with movement, speech, memory and swallowing. In a moment of absolute despair, they decide to walk the 630 mile South Coast Path. (Continued in comments)

Not for me this book. Normally I like travel books and I‘d love to hike across England but this story was just too much. Too many setbacks for the main characters who I cared too little about to feel for them. Bitchy I know, can‘t help it 🤷🏻‍♀️

This was like a horror story for me: outdoors, insects, camping, walking, wet clothes, dirty hair, weather, no food, no home.
I‘ll be having nightmares. I think they were bonkers and nothing would make me do this.
#booked2022 #involvesanexploration

My sister recommended this one as she loved it so much! I'm on page 17 and have used up 2 x tissues already! What a gripping and touching start! I just wanted to share it with you - time to get back to my book!

Update: I've finished the book- it was meandering in parts, but I found that completely fitting with the story and I can definitely say that I enjoyed it - now I want to go for a walk, wild camp and chat to the homeless..

Not alot happens in this book but it was so beautiful. Reminding me of the wonder and beauty of the landscape and nature. How the simple things in life can bring you the most joy and make you feel alive! The wind in your hair, rain on your face, the sun and salt on your skin, the sand between your toes. The sight of birds in the air. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It took Ray & Moth twice as long to hike the South West Coast Path as their guidebook, by Paddy Dillon, said it would. Similarly, it took me at least twice as long to read their story as I hoped. Though I‘m sure the pacing was true to life (as they weren‘t out for a leisurely stroll but walking [in their fifties] as a way to contend with their sudden homelessness & a terminal medical diagnosis), it was slow-going. Sometimes painfully so.👇🏻

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread.”
-John Muir

Here to admit I don‘t always love this book the way that I want to. It can be SLOW GOING. Take the following:

“Charlestown, previously West Polmear, remains a picaresque harbor built, oddly enough, by Charles Rashleigh, who wasn‘t even slightly egotistical & changed the population from 9 lobster-pot-weaving, pipe-whittling fishermen to 3,000 warehouse workers filling cargo ships with clay, quicker than you can say “kaolin poultice anyone?”

WHAT.

Still reading this. 🙈 @TheKidUpstairs

Also, I‘m finally being tested for allergies (for the first time in my life). Guess what the biggest bump is for?

A good hiking story always gives me itchy feet. I want to go out and walk in nature. This one was no different. I want to go explore the trails and towns along the South West Coastal Path. But it also brings so much more, it is also a meditation on poverty, homelessness, life, death, marriage, family, and hope. The kind of hope that can only really be found in the face of despair.

Thanks @monalyisha for the #buddyread

I strayed from The Salt Path to get some work-reading done…but I‘m back now, reading about clawdds (top) & “curzy way” or “crinkle crankle” walls.

@TheKidUpstairs #buddyread

"It had been said; death had been acknowledged... We lay in the tent at the edge of Lyme Regis, on a patch of grass between the lobster pots and the chalets, and let death in. And life came with it. The jagged, shattered, lost fragments of our lives slowly, mercurially drawn back together."

"It was late April, the swallows were returning, the lambs were growing strong on the hillside. In the dense wood, behind the fallen larch, I glimpsed the fallow deer, no longer alone, but with four tiny frail legs next to hers. Reluctant to leave the safety of the trees she slipped back into the darkness."

#BuddyRead @monalyisha

Large disconnect between my reading and my reality right now. 🙈

Also, feeling a bit like Medusa. 🐍

“I had heather and salt air in my veins and flew with the gulls.”

Raise your hand if you‘re easily tempted into wanderlust-filled daydreams by descriptions of tiny churches. 🖐🏻

This is Culbone Church, reputed to be the smallest church in England & definitely one of the most remote. You‘ve got to come at it by foot, 1.5 miles, uphill. The woods surrounding it are filled with fairytale tunnels & are home to the rare, self-cloning, Sorbus vexans trees. It was once the site of a leper colony.

Up next!
Buddy read with @TheKidUpstairs

@monalyisha I've got a couple books on the go, but I'm thinking I'll start on this one in a couple of days, if you're still up for a buddy read? I think we should keep it simple, read it some time this month and at the end of the month we can tag each other in reviews and discuss!

#BeginsWith @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

I'm starting to think I pick books for my TBR based on their covers a lot more than I realized. This cover makes my heart happy. 💚💚💚

True story about a couple who, after learning the husband is terminally ill, also lose their home and livelihood.
Instead of giving up, they decide to trek 630 miles along the Coastal Path, camping in the wild with extremely limited funds and supplies.
After a slow start, their story really grew on me. It‘s about finding liberation through letting go and embracing wilderness.
‘You‘ve felt the hand of nature. It won‘t leave you now; You‘re salted‘

Really good, inspiring but also very raw. Makes me want to go on a long hike!

@Readergrrl thank you for my #wintersolsticeswap gifts! I love everything! I‘m most looking forward to the tagged book, and what a great idea to choose all winter themed ones! The soap smells so lovely, evergreen scents are my favorite. I grew up in Vermont so 😋 yum maple brittle! The ornaments are soft and cute, and the socks and blanket are perfect for staying warm and comfy. I do love the green. Perfect gifts, thank you!
Happy Solstice!💚

One of the most exciting, new-to-me books that came to my attention as the #NewYearWhoDis matchmaker! It's a memoir about walking, the sea, a windswept coast, love, grief, and “the healing power of the natural world. Ultimately, it is a portrayal of home, and how it can be lost, rebuilt, and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways.“

This one is from @Singout's list!

So uplifting: an elderly couple lose their home and savings and realize one has a degenerative illness. Instead of moving into supportive housing, they scrape together what they have and walk the South West Coast Path around Cornwall and Devon in England. Honest portrayal of a sudden shift into poverty, struggling with old age, and facing death, combined with love, courage, and generosity from them and those they meet.
#Nonfiction2021 #AboutLove

I finally got to experience The Salt Path, and I get why this book strikes a chord with so many people. The first chapter hit me like a ton of bricks. I can't imagine having to go through what happened to them.

The book had some up and downs for me, there were some parts where it lost my attention just a little bit, became just a tad monotonous. But on the whole the balance still came out very favourably for this book. I loved reading it.

What was the difference between the two stories? Only one word, but that one word in the public perception meant everything: “sold.” We could have become homeless having “sold” our home and put money in the bank and be inspirational, or we could be homeless having “lost” our home and become penniless and be social pariahs. We chose the former. Easier to have a brief passing conversation. The more times we told the lie, the less we felt the grief.

#conflictedworlds #personvsnature

This one was a very good read all about taking on the elements, adventure, and fighting the stigma of homelessness.

@eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

“Where Daphne du Maurier was a tenant and dreamt of Manderley, we lay homeless and penniless under the stars.” The story of a couple with nowhere else to go who set out to walk all 630 miles of the South West Coast Path. Reading this in Cornwall, walking some of the paths that had to become their home, I became completely in awe of Raynor and Moth and entirely captivated by their story.

Marvellous, absolutely bloody marvellous! 🌟

Cannot believe these two amazing humans and what they fought for, what they went through, and lost….but what they gained in return of losing their family home, their belongings, and what they thought was life, was NOTHING compared to the amazing heartaches, triumphs, power of nature and adventure they embarked on, side by side through thick and thin, meeting all sorts of people along the way! 🌻

Very much enjoying this honest, adventures and heartbreaking book so far! Only 90 odd pages left! ❤️📔🙏

#bookspin BookspinBingo

Bingo #2 of the month. It has been a fairly good reading month for me. Going to try and finish up the last two book before the numbers are pulled for June!

Thanks for the game @TheAromaofBooks

I appreciate this book. How Winn points out the different ways they are treated based of if people think they are homeless by chance or choice. The physical traumas she and Moth go through. And her wonderful musings on nature.

I thought this was quite interesting, especially the fact that Moth who was suffering from a terminal cancer seemed to improve. I did, however, find it a little repetitive and I started to lose interest half way. Hats off to Moth and Ray, though. When the going gets tough, the tough get going.