The Wild Silence

A Memoir

By: Raynor Winn

Narrated by: Raynor Winn

Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Sunday Times Best Seller

The incredible follow-up to one of the most talked about books of the decade - the phenomenon, Waterstones Book of the Month and Costa Award short-listed The Salt Path.

"Extraordinary: wise, unflinching, exquisite. Profound." (Observer)

"A thrill to read. The nature writing is beautiful...heartening and comforting. You feel the world is a better place." (The Times)

Nature holds the answers for Raynor and her husband, Moth.

After walking 630 miles homeless along The Salt Path, the windswept and wild English coastline now feels like their home.

And despite Moth's terminal diagnosis, against all medical odds, he seems revitalized in nature - outside, they discover that anything is possible.

Now, life beyond The Salt Path awaits. As they return to four walls, 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 but neglected farmhouse nestled deep in the Cornish hills; rewilding the land and returning nature to its hedgerows becomes their new path.

Along the way, Raynor and Moth learn more about the land that envelopes them, find friends both new and old, and, of course, embark on another windswept adventure when the opportunity arises.

The Wild Silence is a luminous story of hope triumphing over despair, of the human spirit's instinctive connection to nature, and of lifelong love prevailing over everything.

"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)

"So moving, it made me cry...repeatedly. Confirms Winn as a natural and extremely talented writer with an incredible way with words." (Sophie Raworth)

"A must read for anyone inspired by The Salt Path." (Good Housekeeping)

"An uplifting, illuminating read." (Daily Mirror)

"Heart-rending. A love letter to the natural world in all its wondrous glory...spellbinding. (Herald)

©2021 Raynor Winn (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

"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) 

"Profoundly moving and emotionally transcendent reading." (The List)

"A poignant and passionate, grounded yet uplifting journey of discovery in which we learn what can be found after all seems lost, The Wild Silence is a testament to the transformative power of nature and the fresh hope it nurtures within ourselves". (Steven McKenzie, editor of The Big Issue)  

An enjoyable follow up

I love Raynor Winn’s lyrical yet unpretentious style of writing, and feel like she takes me with her on her adventures from the comfort of my home.

Inspiring Epic

I wanted to walk with them. I wanted to see what courage and determination look like in practice. I love her voice and let her lull me to sleep on sleepless nights. Thank you.

Another great book!!

She has done it again! Taking us on a journey to far off places while always remembering what is important… The JOURNEY! For those who complain about her accent, please listen closer and allow yourself to learn new things. I’m a 59 yr old elementary school teacher in So Cal USA and I always tell my students to be open to new learning opportunities. Well done!!😎

Beautiful written

This is a wonderful true story of love and perseverance by the author of The Salt Path- another excellent book. I am looking forward to purchasing her next book- Landline!

She did it again. You MUST listen to this book after The Salt Path.

Raynor has written another stunningly beautiful book. I am continually in awe of her art. The way she bends and turns words with such beauty that I often find myself in tears at the wonder of them. Her love for the earth and her husband, their adventures from when they first met, to their current mid-life struggles and how they continue to press on is so inspiring. You must read this follow up to the Salt Path, listening to it in the authors own voice, only adds another layer of beautiful reality to it all. Thank you Raynor (& Moth)for sharing this with us all.

Nearly as Good as the Salt Path

Another poetic, compassionate memoir from Raynor Winn. Nearly as good as the Salt Path. Others have sung its particular praises better than I can.

My main problem with this one is that it was, in parts, too sad for me to bear, having just recently lost two close family members, and a having received a life-threatening-illness diagnosis for my own husband.

On a more mundane note, while I love Winn's voice, I wish she'd do something to differentiate between characters. Often I couldn't tell who was speaking, nor when one stopped & another began.

Disappointing after Salt Path

I was so happy that there was a follow up to Salt Path however this felt a little like the author being pushed to capitalize on the success of Salt Path.
I bought the book on Audible but was so off put by the tone of the narrator that sounded negative and hard that I went and bought a physical book so I could continue reading with what I imagined the authors tone which was kinder and gentler. I had realized that the author was the narrator but I still needed to replace her voice,
The story felt like it was forced with repetitive anecdotes about the authors childhood. There was no clue given in the first book that she had such an aversion to people - it just did not fit well together with the first book.
Glad I read it but disappointed generally.

This is a welcome sequel to The Salt Path.

It’s wonderful to hear what happened next. It’s good to hear how the book came to be written like a part of their “cure” too. Beautiful philosophical writing. Who knew she had so many issues of fear of people? But she copes and grows. Life is ongoing for them and better than before in more ways than financially.