The Wild Silence, Raynor Winn - Book Review

Raynor has the gift of immersive writing – at the stroke of a pen, she is able to transport us into the heart of nature. It might be the egrets near Bodinnick, the roe deer looking for a safe space or the swallows she imagines ‘spreading their wings and trusting the air’ as she sits in the Penguin Offices in London being told how much they love her book and want to publish it.

That book ‘The Salt Path’ was to become one of the publishing sensations of 2018, staying in The Sunday Times bestseller lists for months.  For those of you who loved Raynor’s first book, you won’t be disappointed by the follow up, ‘The Wild Silence’ which is published by Penguin this week.

‘The Wild Silence’ picks up where The Salt Path left off – Moth and Raynor are living in Polruan and Moth has started studying for his BSc at Plymouth University.  Raynor’s words are moving and raw about life after the path, the loss of her Mother and the difficulty of finding her place in this new part of their journey.  While Moth is studying, she is drawn to discover more about his prognosis and help him remember their time on the path by writing a narrative which would result in them being offered a publishing deal.

Raynor vocalises the reality of how we are an integral part of our natural world.  If 2020 and its hideous pandemic has taught us anything, it is how important our natural surroundings are.  During lockdown, some of us re-discovered the small joys of watching plants come into bud, the slow pleasure of setting seeds and the excitement of their growth (and now the delights of the harvest).  It made me cross to hear people criticise those who wanted to sit in parks.  Of course, they did…..we are hard wired to respond to plants and sunshine. Our bodies and souls need them.

I’ve had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Raynor at a few events in Cornwall and getting to know her and Moth.  They are not only the most delightful couple you could ever meet; they are clearly at one with each other; taking turns to lead on their journey whether it’s early wild camping adventures in Scotland or taking the leap of faith into a new journey of words, literary festivals and publishing deals.

‘The Wild Silence’ is a testament to a relationship sealed in nature. A love story sung over the mountains of Scotland and Wales, the salty paths of Cornwall and the vertical shards of Iceland. Raynor’s poetic words will stay with you and maybe open your eyes to the everyday wonders of nature right outside your door from the mundane to the dramatic.  If ever we needed them, it’s now.