Philosophy Salon

Raynor Winn’s The Salt Path was a best selling memoir, later adapted into a Hollywood movie starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs. But in 2025, an article in the Observer by journalist Chloe Hadjimatheou questioned the accuracy of the narrative, sparking a controversy that rumbles on today.

That elements of the book are factually inaccurate is not in doubt. The question that remains is how far can we bend the truth for the sake of storytelling without it breaking? It’s a question that is as important in journalism as it is in autobiography. After all, every narrative is selective and every memory is partial.

In our latest informal philosophy salon, Hadjimatheou will be discussing the nature and importance of truth with writer Lily Dunn, hosted by our philosopher-in-residence, Julian Baggini.

Chloe Hadjimatheou is the Observer‘s Narrative Editor and an award winning investigative journalist. She reported two podcast series for Tortoise Investigates: Lucky Boy and The Gas Man and produced the series The State of Netanyahu. She also focuses on stories in the Middle East, particularly Israel-Palestine and Syria. Chloe was shortlisted for journalism’s most prestigious award, the Orwell Prize.

Dr Lily Dunn is an author, academic and memoir specialist. Her debut nonfiction, Sins of My Father: A Daughter, A Cult, A Wild Unravelling, a memoir about the legacy of her father’s addictions (W&N) was one of The Spectator‘s and The Guardian‘s best nonfiction books of 2022. Her latest book: Into Being: The radical craft of memoir and its power to transform is a hybrid memoir craft book. She teaches narrative nonfiction and memoir at Bath Spa University and co-runs London Lit Lab.