This beautifully written book, is not only a love letter to the south-west coast but also a testament to love that knows no boundaries. It also made me want to dust off my walking boots and find my own adventure.

Wow! This has got to be the best read of mine this year! It is a truly inspirational read, which really makes you stop and think about life and reflect on what you truly value. This is a true story, told by Raynor Quinn, who we find out at the beginning of the book has sadly lost her home; a farmhouse in Wales, that has been the family home for many years, and is everything that her and her husband Moth have worked for. At the same time, the couple also find out that Moth has CBD, a neurological disorder that affects muscular co-ordination but eventually ends up with difficulty swallowing and breathing. Faced with such an ordeal to come to terms with, alongside the fact they have lost their lifelong home and are left penniless and homeless, the couple make the decision to put on their backpacks and walk the whole of the South-West coastal path. The book is the tale of the journey that Moth and Ray take, told to us through the eyes of Ray, which include moments of challenge and despair as well as comical anecdotes of events and people they meet along the way. As the couple meet holiday makers, residents of Devon and Cornwall, other walkers on 'The Path', to name a few, it becomes apparent how people in society view others classified as 'homeless' and instantly become wary of them as they discover their situation. For myself, it made me stop and think about the many different reasons in life people become homeless, often that we know so little about. As a reader, you follow the journey with Moth and Ray, and discover how they find an inner strength when life really does take what they think is everything from them. However, what they soon find is that the land and earth on which they walk begins to give them so much more, in particular, a revitalised strength for Moth, proving his Dr's wrong in how his disease may affect him physically. Ray narrates the journey in such a way that you feel you really get to know the couple, their personalities, dynamics of their relationship, and how strong they really are when pushed to their limits, both mentally and physically. A recommended read for anyone who loves the outdoors, and also a chance to reflect on our own perceptions in life, and consider how we may deal with such a situation if faced with such challenging hardships. I now cannot wait to read the sequel to this, 'The Wild Silence', and find out what happens in life for Moth and Ray after life on 'The Path'.

Read this book within 48 hours of purchase and will be re-reading plenty of times yet. Absolutely wonderful story, beautiful, inspiring, and yet written in a way that I believe everyone can relate to, searching for comfort in the simplest things in life. It made me laugh, it made me cry; everything I look for in a book really. I couldn't recommend it enough.

I loved the opening of the book with the debt collectors, it made it very hard hitting to have that so early on but it also created the start of their journey with this high emotional energy right from the get go. Degenerative disease, homelessness, lack of funds, they had so much against them after losing their home and business. The story starts out in darkness and ends in light. For me this book is about hope and nature’s beauty rather than the darkness this world has.

Really loved reading this book! The ups and downs of life spread across 630 miles, each section of the coast path dissolving a grief from the past. So much to be taken away from this book. All you need to do is walk!