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Raising Hare: A Memoir
A moving and fascinating meditation on freedom, trust, loss, and our relationship with the natural world, explored through the story of one woman’s unlikely friendship with a wild hare.
Imagine you could hold a baby hare and bottle-feed it. Imagine that it lived under your roof and lolloped around your bedroom at night, drumming on the duvet cover when it wanted your attention. Imagine that, over two years later, it still ran in from the fields when you called it and slept in your house for hours on end and gave birth to leverets in your study. For political advisor and speechwriter Chloe Dalton, who spent lockdown deep in the English countryside, far away from her usual busy London life, this became her unexpected reality.
In February 2021, Dalton stumbles upon a newborn hare—a leveret—that had been chased by a dog. Fearing for its life, she brings it home, only to discover how impossible it is to rear a wild hare, most of whom perish in captivity from either shock or starvation. Through trial and error, she learns to feed and care for the leveret with every intention of returning it to the wilderness. Instead, it becomes her constant companion, wandering the fields and woods at night and returning to Dalton’s house by day. Though Dalton feared that the hare would be preyed upon by foxes, stoats, feral cats, raptors, and even people, she never tried to restrict it to the house. Each time the hare leaves, Chloe knows she may never see it again. Yet she also understands that to confine it would be its own kind of death.
Raising Hare chronicles their journey together, while also taking a deep dive into the lives and nature of hares, and the way they have been viewed historically in art, literature, and folklore. We witness first-hand the joy at this extraordinary relationship between human and animal, which serves as a reminder that the best things, and most beautiful experiences, arise when we least expect them.
Imagine you could hold a baby hare and bottle-feed it. Imagine that it lived under your roof and lolloped around your bedroom at night, drumming on the duvet cover when it wanted your attention. Imagine that, over two years later, it still ran in from the fields when you called it and slept in your house for hours on end and gave birth to leverets in your study. For political advisor and speechwriter Chloe Dalton, who spent lockdown deep in the English countryside, far away from her usual busy London life, this became her unexpected reality.
In February 2021, Dalton stumbles upon a newborn hare—a leveret—that had been chased by a dog. Fearing for its life, she brings it home, only to discover how impossible it is to rear a wild hare, most of whom perish in captivity from either shock or starvation. Through trial and error, she learns to feed and care for the leveret with every intention of returning it to the wilderness. Instead, it becomes her constant companion, wandering the fields and woods at night and returning to Dalton’s house by day. Though Dalton feared that the hare would be preyed upon by foxes, stoats, feral cats, raptors, and even people, she never tried to restrict it to the house. Each time the hare leaves, Chloe knows she may never see it again. Yet she also understands that to confine it would be its own kind of death.
Raising Hare chronicles their journey together, while also taking a deep dive into the lives and nature of hares, and the way they have been viewed historically in art, literature, and folklore. We witness first-hand the joy at this extraordinary relationship between human and animal, which serves as a reminder that the best things, and most beautiful experiences, arise when we least expect them.
285 pages, Hardcover
First published March 4, 2025
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17.9k people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 523 reviews
April 5, 2025
Over the years, there have been some classic autobiographical books that have celebrated the human connection with the natural world - in particular with different animals. Classics that spring to mind include : Ring of Bright Water by Gavin Maxwell; H for Hawk for Helen Mac Donald anreven My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell.
Raising Hare deserves to join this illustrious group. Chloe Dalton has written a highly engaging and beautiful memoir/chronicle about her experiences of rescuing a baby hare /leveret and the ensuing years of their connection.
Abandoned by its mother on a footpath during Covid lockdown Chloe discovers this tiny creature - a new born hare- should she leave it or try to save it from an imminent death?
Decision made, the leveret is taken home but with constant understanding that this is a wild creature not to be domesticated; what follows is the moving story of Chloe's quest to help the hare, enable it to return to the wild and the incredible and mysterious connection that develops between the two of them. The Hare continues to live close to the house and take refuge in a most unexpected way.
Chloe Dalton shines a life on this enigmatic and rarely seen animal and uncovers through her observations the habits and wonderful qualities of Hare as it grows older and its offspring. The story also echoes the seasonal changes and its impact on wildlife as well as exploring the human impact of mass agriculture upon the natural world.
Told over three years, Raising Hare is a truly moving and wonderful read. This is a story about a unique bond -written with warmth - not sentimental- and compassion for an animal that is in decline as it has no legal protection. It also shows how the human /natural environment connection and just slowing down gives an improved quality of life and sense of being.
Maybe Chloe Dalton's book could change perception and highlight the need to save this beautiful creature.
Wildlife read of 2024... superb!
Raising Hare deserves to join this illustrious group. Chloe Dalton has written a highly engaging and beautiful memoir/chronicle about her experiences of rescuing a baby hare /leveret and the ensuing years of their connection.
Abandoned by its mother on a footpath during Covid lockdown Chloe discovers this tiny creature - a new born hare- should she leave it or try to save it from an imminent death?
Decision made, the leveret is taken home but with constant understanding that this is a wild creature not to be domesticated; what follows is the moving story of Chloe's quest to help the hare, enable it to return to the wild and the incredible and mysterious connection that develops between the two of them. The Hare continues to live close to the house and take refuge in a most unexpected way.
Chloe Dalton shines a life on this enigmatic and rarely seen animal and uncovers through her observations the habits and wonderful qualities of Hare as it grows older and its offspring. The story also echoes the seasonal changes and its impact on wildlife as well as exploring the human impact of mass agriculture upon the natural world.
Told over three years, Raising Hare is a truly moving and wonderful read. This is a story about a unique bond -written with warmth - not sentimental- and compassion for an animal that is in decline as it has no legal protection. It also shows how the human /natural environment connection and just slowing down gives an improved quality of life and sense of being.
Maybe Chloe Dalton's book could change perception and highlight the need to save this beautiful creature.
Wildlife read of 2024... superb!
Want to read
March 28, 2025Like Dalton with her hare, I found this book in the wild and brought it home with me. Unlike Dalton, I am not fit to nurture as an exceptionally leaky Pancheros burrito marinated my copy that same day. I now have Raising Hare Con Jugo de Frijol.
Having said that, I did, years ago, frequently feed a rabbit I saw every morning upon returning home from work. I named him Günter Grass.
Having said that, I did, years ago, frequently feed a rabbit I saw every morning upon returning home from work. I named him Günter Grass.
July 25, 2024
This is a tough one to review. I loved the subject matter but the execution left me wanting. Given the other reviews, I think this might be a case of the author’s style being a mismatch for my personal taste rather than anything else.
What worked for me:
🐇 The premise of this book was intriguing and I was keen to hear about Dalton’s experience. I liked that she didn’t just scoop up the baby but gave the mother opportunity to return for her without going all ‘free bun’ about it but some of her other actions did frustrate me later on.
🐇 Illustrations in the book were absolutely stunning!
🐇 As an enthusiastic planetary stewardship advocate, I am thrilled that Dalton has become more in tune with nature and has used this story to highlight the perils of wildlife at the hands of humans. Anything that increases the reach of this message and drives awareness is worth doing.
What I wasn’t so keen on:
🐇 Structure and style: Info dumpy fact sections and focus on hares in literature felt like filler. The experience the author had raising the hare was, particularly at the beginning, overpowered by pages and pages of fiction and history excerpts. We’d spend half a page on what felt like a random tangent - like on the difference between hares and cats - you know, that classic mix-up - which just added to the feeling of padding. The overwrought descriptions, the info dumping, copy-pasted quotes from literature, and tangents interrupted flow of the author’s experience (the reason we’re reading the book!). The writing style felt stilted and, at times, pompous which I didn’t gel with as a reader. It didn’t have the warmth of many of my favourite nature books but felt clinical in execution. Another element that I found distracting was how present the author was in the story: Early on, it becomes evident that the author has an alarming preoccupation with their job that bleeds into this story excessively. It’s evident that the job is the main priority and, while there’s a bit of acknowledgement of this mid-way through the book, I think a lot of the job stuff should have been cut - it doesn’t add anything. Your readers are here for the hares!
🐇 Author’s naïvety: As a reader who grew up rurally in Canada, none of the author’s revelations were news to me (prey animals don’t like feeling penned in! keeping nature away from your garden is probably not going to work! animals can be creatures of habit! human urbanization threatens the habitats of wild beings!). For someone who claimed to have a pet rabbit when they were younger, the author is very naïve when it comes to lagomorph care: trying to feed them bread, picking them up, not knowing they’re crepuscular critters, being surprised that they go for the spicy hay (power cords) and chew pretty much anything. “I was always troubled by the possibility that proximity to humans might have taken the edge of its natural instincts” says human who rushes to the rescue at every perceived threat and constantly scoops the hare up. 🙃 Real talk: I wanted to scream “stop interfering!” so many times during this read.
🐇 Dalton spends a lot of time describing actions, appearances, and places in great detail. As a reader, I would have valued more illustrations or photos over paragraphs of flowery descriptions.
Obligatory PSA: Have you found a baby animal? An injured bird or animal? Call your local wildlife rehab clinic for advice. The critter might not need help but if they do, leave it to the pros. Don’t try to “save” them, keep them as a pet, or raise them yourself. They’re living, wild beings with complex needs that may need specialist care. Good intentions can cause deep harm - please always get the advice of a wildlife expert before intervening with a young or injured wild animal.
⚠️ Content Caution: For humans who love or steward the care of lagomorphs, some of the hunting, farming, and consumption history may be distressing. There are a lot of grisly descriptions of hare cruelty and deaths within these pages. Be kind to yourself.
If you’ve spent time with lagomorphs, or spent time observing the natural world, you may not get much out of this. For readers who enjoy Katherine Rundell’s style or those new to the joy of lagomorphs, I heartily encourage you to check this out!
I was privileged to have my request to read this book accepted through NetGalley. Thank you, Canongate.
What worked for me:
🐇 The premise of this book was intriguing and I was keen to hear about Dalton’s experience. I liked that she didn’t just scoop up the baby but gave the mother opportunity to return for her without going all ‘free bun’ about it but some of her other actions did frustrate me later on.
🐇 Illustrations in the book were absolutely stunning!
🐇 As an enthusiastic planetary stewardship advocate, I am thrilled that Dalton has become more in tune with nature and has used this story to highlight the perils of wildlife at the hands of humans. Anything that increases the reach of this message and drives awareness is worth doing.
What I wasn’t so keen on:
🐇 Structure and style: Info dumpy fact sections and focus on hares in literature felt like filler. The experience the author had raising the hare was, particularly at the beginning, overpowered by pages and pages of fiction and history excerpts. We’d spend half a page on what felt like a random tangent - like on the difference between hares and cats - you know, that classic mix-up - which just added to the feeling of padding. The overwrought descriptions, the info dumping, copy-pasted quotes from literature, and tangents interrupted flow of the author’s experience (the reason we’re reading the book!). The writing style felt stilted and, at times, pompous which I didn’t gel with as a reader. It didn’t have the warmth of many of my favourite nature books but felt clinical in execution. Another element that I found distracting was how present the author was in the story: Early on, it becomes evident that the author has an alarming preoccupation with their job that bleeds into this story excessively. It’s evident that the job is the main priority and, while there’s a bit of acknowledgement of this mid-way through the book, I think a lot of the job stuff should have been cut - it doesn’t add anything. Your readers are here for the hares!
🐇 Author’s naïvety: As a reader who grew up rurally in Canada, none of the author’s revelations were news to me (prey animals don’t like feeling penned in! keeping nature away from your garden is probably not going to work! animals can be creatures of habit! human urbanization threatens the habitats of wild beings!). For someone who claimed to have a pet rabbit when they were younger, the author is very naïve when it comes to lagomorph care: trying to feed them bread, picking them up, not knowing they’re crepuscular critters, being surprised that they go for the spicy hay (power cords) and chew pretty much anything. “I was always troubled by the possibility that proximity to humans might have taken the edge of its natural instincts” says human who rushes to the rescue at every perceived threat and constantly scoops the hare up. 🙃 Real talk: I wanted to scream “stop interfering!” so many times during this read.
🐇 Dalton spends a lot of time describing actions, appearances, and places in great detail. As a reader, I would have valued more illustrations or photos over paragraphs of flowery descriptions.
Obligatory PSA: Have you found a baby animal? An injured bird or animal? Call your local wildlife rehab clinic for advice. The critter might not need help but if they do, leave it to the pros. Don’t try to “save” them, keep them as a pet, or raise them yourself. They’re living, wild beings with complex needs that may need specialist care. Good intentions can cause deep harm - please always get the advice of a wildlife expert before intervening with a young or injured wild animal.
⚠️ Content Caution: For humans who love or steward the care of lagomorphs, some of the hunting, farming, and consumption history may be distressing. There are a lot of grisly descriptions of hare cruelty and deaths within these pages. Be kind to yourself.
If you’ve spent time with lagomorphs, or spent time observing the natural world, you may not get much out of this. For readers who enjoy Katherine Rundell’s style or those new to the joy of lagomorphs, I heartily encourage you to check this out!
I was privileged to have my request to read this book accepted through NetGalley. Thank you, Canongate.
March 24, 2025
A short, sweet, meditative sort of memoir by a woman who, unexpectedly stuck in the English countryside during the pandemic, rescued(?) a newborn leveret from the side of the road. She learned that hares have never been domesticated and generally do not survive under human care, but with no going back now, resolved to care for the leveret and return it to the wild. Happily, she succeeded, and since “the wild” in this case meant “just beyond my garden fence,” the hare did not go far and regularly returned for food and to raise its own young. This left the author with ample opportunity to learn more about hares and gain a new respect for the natural world.
I enjoyed this. It’s well-written, and Dalton is thoughtful, owns her mistakes, and is committed to doing right by the hare without trying to own it. Sometimes her commitment goes impressively far (leaving a door to her home open, permanently? While crime and insects don’t seem to be problems in her area and she doesn’t mind the occasional intrusion of other wildlife, what about the electricity usage?). But a memoir about your relationship with an animal is the place where everyone is rooting for you to take it as far as possible. With the help of some great illustrations, she brings the hare to life as an adorable and impressive creature, and the reader learns a lot about them.
Hares, as it turns out, are quite different from rabbits, and can’t interbreed with them—though they are called jackrabbits in the U.S. (where they apparently only live in western states), further adding to the confusion. Most startling perhaps is that they have no nests or burrows, but simply give birth to their leverets in places of moderate shelter such as grassy fields or under a bush, then immediately leave them behind (though tending to stay close by to scare off predators). The leverets will hide all day, at some distance from one another, while the mother comes to feed them at night and then leaps away to avoid leaving a scent trail.
At any rate, generous margins and spacing make a very quick read of an already slim page count. And it’s a nice book, making for pleasant, engaging and educational reading. Well worth the time I spent with it.
I enjoyed this. It’s well-written, and Dalton is thoughtful, owns her mistakes, and is committed to doing right by the hare without trying to own it. Sometimes her commitment goes impressively far (leaving a door to her home open, permanently? While crime and insects don’t seem to be problems in her area and she doesn’t mind the occasional intrusion of other wildlife, what about the electricity usage?). But a memoir about your relationship with an animal is the place where everyone is rooting for you to take it as far as possible. With the help of some great illustrations, she brings the hare to life as an adorable and impressive creature, and the reader learns a lot about them.
Hares, as it turns out, are quite different from rabbits, and can’t interbreed with them—though they are called jackrabbits in the U.S. (where they apparently only live in western states), further adding to the confusion. Most startling perhaps is that they have no nests or burrows, but simply give birth to their leverets in places of moderate shelter such as grassy fields or under a bush, then immediately leave them behind (though tending to stay close by to scare off predators). The leverets will hide all day, at some distance from one another, while the mother comes to feed them at night and then leaps away to avoid leaving a scent trail.
At any rate, generous margins and spacing make a very quick read of an already slim page count. And it’s a nice book, making for pleasant, engaging and educational reading. Well worth the time I spent with it.
March 26, 2025
A lovely little tribute to the world we share with animals (especially hares).🐰
"Each day brought new aspects of the growing leveret's behaviour at which to marvel, and I found myself drawn, against all my previous interests and inclinations, into the desire to discover everything I could about it."
Chloe Dalton's life was upended when she stumbled upon an orphaned baby animal. She loves city life, and her career as a political advisor often sees her traveling the globe for work. During the COVID pandemic, however, she retreated to the countryside. While there, she discovered an abandoned leveret (aka a baby hare, also known as a jackrabbit in the States).
Dalton had reason to believe the leveret's mother had been killed, and it was huddled in the road, unwilling to move, where it would surely be run over, so she decided to bring it home with her. She soon learned that leverets raised by humans have a very low survival rate. This woman who loved being able to travel at a moment's notice suddenly found herself housebound and latched to a small, vulnerable animal whose life depended on her.
Much to Dalton's dismay, she discovered there’s plenty of information out there on how to hunt, kill or, cook hares. But there’s very little on how to keep them alive. In Raising Hare, she charts her experience raising the hare, shares what she learned about these marvelous little animals, and reveals how her time with the hare changed her perception of the natural world. Effectively, she wrote the book that she desperately needed when she was struggling to help the leveret survive.
While raising the hare, Dalton remained firm in her understanding that it was a wild animal, so she did not name it. It remains "it" or "the hare" until it's gender is revealed, after which other pronouns are used, but still no name. I understand why Dalton chose not to name the hare and would even argue that she made the right move, but I found that it created a sense of detachment for me while reading.
It's fine to read that a hare ran around her living room yesterday and is running around her living room today, and tomorrow she will read how far hares travel in a day and share that information with us, but I think I would have cared more if Aayla had been running around the living room, or Bernard sniffed hesitantly at the oats, or Quill looked back at Dalton with soul-filled eyes. That's probably just a me problem though.
Overall, Dalton gives a tender, moving account of her time raising the hare, and she beautifully conveys her growing appreciation for our connection with animals. She also urges us to consider the myriad ways humans disrupt the natural world and inevitably hurt wildlife. When you pair that with the books lovely end pages and charming illustrations, the result is a book that would make a wonderful gift for someone who appreciates the natural world.
"Each day brought new aspects of the growing leveret's behaviour at which to marvel, and I found myself drawn, against all my previous interests and inclinations, into the desire to discover everything I could about it."
Chloe Dalton's life was upended when she stumbled upon an orphaned baby animal. She loves city life, and her career as a political advisor often sees her traveling the globe for work. During the COVID pandemic, however, she retreated to the countryside. While there, she discovered an abandoned leveret (aka a baby hare, also known as a jackrabbit in the States).
Dalton had reason to believe the leveret's mother had been killed, and it was huddled in the road, unwilling to move, where it would surely be run over, so she decided to bring it home with her. She soon learned that leverets raised by humans have a very low survival rate. This woman who loved being able to travel at a moment's notice suddenly found herself housebound and latched to a small, vulnerable animal whose life depended on her.
Much to Dalton's dismay, she discovered there’s plenty of information out there on how to hunt, kill or, cook hares. But there’s very little on how to keep them alive. In Raising Hare, she charts her experience raising the hare, shares what she learned about these marvelous little animals, and reveals how her time with the hare changed her perception of the natural world. Effectively, she wrote the book that she desperately needed when she was struggling to help the leveret survive.
While raising the hare, Dalton remained firm in her understanding that it was a wild animal, so she did not name it. It remains "it" or "the hare" until it's gender is revealed, after which other pronouns are used, but still no name. I understand why Dalton chose not to name the hare and would even argue that she made the right move, but I found that it created a sense of detachment for me while reading.
It's fine to read that a hare ran around her living room yesterday and is running around her living room today, and tomorrow she will read how far hares travel in a day and share that information with us, but I think I would have cared more if Aayla had been running around the living room, or Bernard sniffed hesitantly at the oats, or Quill looked back at Dalton with soul-filled eyes. That's probably just a me problem though.
Overall, Dalton gives a tender, moving account of her time raising the hare, and she beautifully conveys her growing appreciation for our connection with animals. She also urges us to consider the myriad ways humans disrupt the natural world and inevitably hurt wildlife. When you pair that with the books lovely end pages and charming illustrations, the result is a book that would make a wonderful gift for someone who appreciates the natural world.
March 6, 2025
Such a wonderful story and so much more than I expected. The anecdotes and the unexpected turn of events that occurred along the way make it even more pleasurable. I was so totally invested in this little hare that I could not read too much in one go as I was so worried about its survival but all ends well.
This is not just a straightforward story about saving a hare, it is about what the hare (who is purposefully never named or made a pet) gave back to the author. The overall message was about slowing down and becoming aware of our natural environment and our contribution to the local ecosystem. So many valuable lessons that made me more aware of my own surroundings as I was reading.
A worthy 5 * and thoroughly recommended to all my GR friends ☺️
This is not just a straightforward story about saving a hare, it is about what the hare (who is purposefully never named or made a pet) gave back to the author. The overall message was about slowing down and becoming aware of our natural environment and our contribution to the local ecosystem. So many valuable lessons that made me more aware of my own surroundings as I was reading.
A worthy 5 * and thoroughly recommended to all my GR friends ☺️
March 12, 2025
When the Covid pandemic resulted in a lockdown in Britain, Chloe Dalton, a political advisor and frequent international traveler, decided to leave her place in London and go to the farm she had in the country, nothing fancy but a place she vacationed. Little did she know that this was to be a life altering experience in unexpected ways.
One day, while walking near her home, she happened upon a very small animal that appeared to be a hare, a baby hare, alone. Concerned about this susceptible creature, but also wary of interfering in a wild animal’s life, she waited to see if the mother would return. When she didn’t, Dalton’s adventure began and the seed of this delightful, insightful, often profound memoir was born.
The beauty of this book is watching as Dalton begins her experience of aiding a hare’s survival while trying not to interfere with its life as a hare. She uses instinct, book learning, the local vet. Instinct often seems the best. Her thoughts on coexistence of species continue to develop over time.
I highly recommend this book for its capture of the lives of the author and hare in an unusual co-existence, the descriptions of the natural world around Dalton’s farm, the life and activities of hares. I had no idea about hares!
Thanks to the author, NetGalley, and Pantheon for an eARC of this book. This review is my own.
One day, while walking near her home, she happened upon a very small animal that appeared to be a hare, a baby hare, alone. Concerned about this susceptible creature, but also wary of interfering in a wild animal’s life, she waited to see if the mother would return. When she didn’t, Dalton’s adventure began and the seed of this delightful, insightful, often profound memoir was born.
The beauty of this book is watching as Dalton begins her experience of aiding a hare’s survival while trying not to interfere with its life as a hare. She uses instinct, book learning, the local vet. Instinct often seems the best. Her thoughts on coexistence of species continue to develop over time.
I highly recommend this book for its capture of the lives of the author and hare in an unusual co-existence, the descriptions of the natural world around Dalton’s farm, the life and activities of hares. I had no idea about hares!
Thanks to the author, NetGalley, and Pantheon for an eARC of this book. This review is my own.
March 26, 2025
This is really stirring nonfiction about how a singular hare changed the author’s life for the better.
When Dalton found a leveret, a newborn hare, chased out of its hide into the open, she first waited to see if its mother would find it and hide it away safely once again. When that doesn’t happen, she sets herself to learning how to raise a wild hare. After caring for the animal through its infancy, she ensures it is free to make its own choices. The hare comes and goes, roaming the English countryside at nighttime and returning to the author’s garden and even into her home to rest, eat, and play. Dalton tries her best to not anthropomorphize the wild animal, or to make it into a pet. Regardless, the hare is so comfortable with her human associate, she even gives birth to one of her litters inside her home, and keeps her babies hidden away safely there while she forages at night.
A focus of this book, besides the story of the interactions and relationship between woman and hare, is how changing her life to accommodate this animal and watching it thrive led the author to learn a new appreciation for nature and life itself. She slowed down, observed more, lived in the moment, and developed mindfulness that allowed her to take more joy in the small realities of life. Additionally, she became more conscious of how human endeavors affect the habitat around them, as well as the wildlife that depends on it. She was able to effect some change to help alleviate some of these environmental harms.
Beyond being educational about hares, their behaviors and natural habitats (a subject that has apparently historically been somewhat neglected), this was an emotional, meditative and reflective book that was a pleasure to read.
My thanks to NetGalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
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When Dalton found a leveret, a newborn hare, chased out of its hide into the open, she first waited to see if its mother would find it and hide it away safely once again. When that doesn’t happen, she sets herself to learning how to raise a wild hare. After caring for the animal through its infancy, she ensures it is free to make its own choices. The hare comes and goes, roaming the English countryside at nighttime and returning to the author’s garden and even into her home to rest, eat, and play. Dalton tries her best to not anthropomorphize the wild animal, or to make it into a pet. Regardless, the hare is so comfortable with her human associate, she even gives birth to one of her litters inside her home, and keeps her babies hidden away safely there while she forages at night.
A focus of this book, besides the story of the interactions and relationship between woman and hare, is how changing her life to accommodate this animal and watching it thrive led the author to learn a new appreciation for nature and life itself. She slowed down, observed more, lived in the moment, and developed mindfulness that allowed her to take more joy in the small realities of life. Additionally, she became more conscious of how human endeavors affect the habitat around them, as well as the wildlife that depends on it. She was able to effect some change to help alleviate some of these environmental harms.
Beyond being educational about hares, their behaviors and natural habitats (a subject that has apparently historically been somewhat neglected), this was an emotional, meditative and reflective book that was a pleasure to read.
My thanks to NetGalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Bookshop.org
Blog
Bookstagram
January 2, 2025
Honestly, I'm glad this is my first book of the year to review as it is a stunning read.
Whatever your thoughts on the rights or wrongs of the situation Chloe Dalton found herself in, there is no denying the absolutely magical experience she was exposed to by nurturing a hare to adulthood. What a privilege to encounter such beauty, mysticism and elusiveness. I was completely mesmerised and captivated by the writing and totally invested in Hare's survival.
This book restored my faith in humanity and it warmed my soul at a very difficult time.
Thank you Chloe for your honest, tender writing and I have to say, had I found the leveret that day, I'd have done exactly the same.
Whatever your thoughts on the rights or wrongs of the situation Chloe Dalton found herself in, there is no denying the absolutely magical experience she was exposed to by nurturing a hare to adulthood. What a privilege to encounter such beauty, mysticism and elusiveness. I was completely mesmerised and captivated by the writing and totally invested in Hare's survival.
This book restored my faith in humanity and it warmed my soul at a very difficult time.
Thank you Chloe for your honest, tender writing and I have to say, had I found the leveret that day, I'd have done exactly the same.
February 2, 2025
My favorite chapter of this beautifully and sensitively written book is number three: “One Month Old: Little Hare” in which Chloe Dalton describes the difficulties she had finding any information on raising a hare. She searched especially for information on feeding and finally came upon poems William Cowper had written 250 years ago about raising a hare the neighbor’s children had gifted to him while recovering from a bad breakup! She began to experiment with the items included in the poems and found that her hare had particular tastes.
I loved the descriptions of how the hare would eat a raspberry or dandelion stalk, and my favorite of all was the description of the sounds the hare made after eating. The hare “would often produce a strange musical call as it ran away from me after feeding. Louder than a puff, sharper than a sigh, softer than a grunt and more musical than a snort […] like the faintest note the gentlest breath on a harmonica.”
As the hare grew and changed through adolescence and entered adulthood Dalton writes, “Its coat was a many-hued wonder: a tapestry of tawny red, ginger, coffee and caramel tones – all shifting in the light.
I noted and appreciated that Dalton never names the hare as she determines not to tame, domesticate or anthropomorphize it in anyway. Rather, she accommodates and adapts her care to support it as a wild creature that should remain wild.
She loved accommodating the hare and “having a reason to change [her] habits.” Dalton goes on to describe how the hare influenced her, “as its gaze travelled further, so did mine, drawing my mind, and increasingly my feet, outdoors.”
The hare changed Dalton’s life in other ways also. She writes, “I had rediscovered the pleasure of attachment to a place and the contentment that can be derived from exploring it fully, rather than constantly seeking ways to leave it and believing that satisfaction can only lie in novel experiences.”
I appreciated her observations of the differences on the nature of the deep bond humans create with animals versus with fellow humans. Dalton explains, “I had come to appreciate that affection for an animal is of a different kind entirely: untinged by the regret, complexities and compromises of human relationships. It has an innocence and purity all of its own.”
Then, she goes on to explain that “In the absence of verbal communication, we extend ourselves to comprehend and meet their needs and, in return, derive companionship and interest from their presence, while also steeling ourselves for inevitable pain, since their lives are for the most part shorter than ours.”
I have truly loved reading this book in the quiet of each morning as an antidote after first catching up on the world news. I loved how the hare never becomes tame but coexists with Dalton and comes and goes at will.
Finally, Dalton ends with sharing her awe as she writes of cherishing “the days she has given me of her own free will, when she lowered her species’ instinctive guard against humans, and shared the beauty and mystery of her presence in silent and graceful companionship. I will remember her leaving, but will know that before she did, she always, first, look backed.”
I loved the descriptions of how the hare would eat a raspberry or dandelion stalk, and my favorite of all was the description of the sounds the hare made after eating. The hare “would often produce a strange musical call as it ran away from me after feeding. Louder than a puff, sharper than a sigh, softer than a grunt and more musical than a snort […] like the faintest note the gentlest breath on a harmonica.”
As the hare grew and changed through adolescence and entered adulthood Dalton writes, “Its coat was a many-hued wonder: a tapestry of tawny red, ginger, coffee and caramel tones – all shifting in the light.
I noted and appreciated that Dalton never names the hare as she determines not to tame, domesticate or anthropomorphize it in anyway. Rather, she accommodates and adapts her care to support it as a wild creature that should remain wild.
She loved accommodating the hare and “having a reason to change [her] habits.” Dalton goes on to describe how the hare influenced her, “as its gaze travelled further, so did mine, drawing my mind, and increasingly my feet, outdoors.”
The hare changed Dalton’s life in other ways also. She writes, “I had rediscovered the pleasure of attachment to a place and the contentment that can be derived from exploring it fully, rather than constantly seeking ways to leave it and believing that satisfaction can only lie in novel experiences.”
I appreciated her observations of the differences on the nature of the deep bond humans create with animals versus with fellow humans. Dalton explains, “I had come to appreciate that affection for an animal is of a different kind entirely: untinged by the regret, complexities and compromises of human relationships. It has an innocence and purity all of its own.”
Then, she goes on to explain that “In the absence of verbal communication, we extend ourselves to comprehend and meet their needs and, in return, derive companionship and interest from their presence, while also steeling ourselves for inevitable pain, since their lives are for the most part shorter than ours.”
I have truly loved reading this book in the quiet of each morning as an antidote after first catching up on the world news. I loved how the hare never becomes tame but coexists with Dalton and comes and goes at will.
Finally, Dalton ends with sharing her awe as she writes of cherishing “the days she has given me of her own free will, when she lowered her species’ instinctive guard against humans, and shared the beauty and mystery of her presence in silent and graceful companionship. I will remember her leaving, but will know that before she did, she always, first, look backed.”
October 17, 2024
This extraordinary book took my breath away at times. It's more than a memoir, it's a masterful reflection on the place human beings occupy in the world, the fragility of the natural world and the wild animals who inhabit it, and the relationships we build with ourselves and those around us (including animals) in the quiet moments. It's right up there with my favourite books this year. And the writing, oh the writing: it is flawless.
Chloe Dalton is a political advisor and speechwriter (she thanks William Hague in the acknowledgements) who, during the pandemic, returns to the English countryside of her childhood. While there, she finds a leveret (a baby hare) injured after being chased by a dog. She takes in the leveret, but doesn't cage it, giving it freedom to roam in and out of the house.
The book chronicles their time together and the challenges faced preparing the leveret for life in the wild as it grows into a hare. This might sound plodding to anyone not into nature memoirs (I can't say I'm particularly into them myself), but I promise Raising Hare is full of thrilling moments, tension and beauty. I absolutely loved it and plan to pick up a physical copy. This will surely win prizes. Comfortably a 5/5 stars for me. A thing of dazzling beauty.
Favourite reads so far this year: The Axeman's Carnival, The Safekeep, The Coast Road and Raising Hare.
*Many thanks to the author, publisher @canongatebooks and Netgalley for the arc. As always, this is an honest review.
Chloe Dalton is a political advisor and speechwriter (she thanks William Hague in the acknowledgements) who, during the pandemic, returns to the English countryside of her childhood. While there, she finds a leveret (a baby hare) injured after being chased by a dog. She takes in the leveret, but doesn't cage it, giving it freedom to roam in and out of the house.
The book chronicles their time together and the challenges faced preparing the leveret for life in the wild as it grows into a hare. This might sound plodding to anyone not into nature memoirs (I can't say I'm particularly into them myself), but I promise Raising Hare is full of thrilling moments, tension and beauty. I absolutely loved it and plan to pick up a physical copy. This will surely win prizes. Comfortably a 5/5 stars for me. A thing of dazzling beauty.
Favourite reads so far this year: The Axeman's Carnival, The Safekeep, The Coast Road and Raising Hare.
*Many thanks to the author, publisher @canongatebooks and Netgalley for the arc. As always, this is an honest review.
January 11, 2025
Recommended by friends who attended the Hay Festival (anyone who is lucky enough to reside in Hay on Wye (a.k.a. heaven on earth), in this sleepy town of the best bookstores on earth -- they tend to be trusted bibliophiles who lean away from the trendy reads and recommend books not to be missed.
This.
Right here.
A treasure.
An absolute gem.
Thank goodness for those who read off the beaten path. Even the pickiest readers have come back to me and said, "You weren't kidding! This was an unforgettable read."
Enjoy! ~
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐+++
This.
Right here.
A treasure.
An absolute gem.
Thank goodness for those who read off the beaten path. Even the pickiest readers have come back to me and said, "You weren't kidding! This was an unforgettable read."
Enjoy! ~
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐+++
December 8, 2024
This is one of my favorite books of 2024. "Raising Hare: A Memoir" by Chloe Dalton is a breathtaking and touching reflection on what it means to connect not just with nature but with ourselves. During the COVID-19 lockdown, Dalton finds herself tucked away in her English countryside home, away from the busy London lifestyle she was accustomed to and thrived in, and where she would travel all over the world at a moment's notice for her job.
While living in the countryside, she stumbles upon a newborn wild hare (a leveret). She leaves the leveret for several hours, hoping the mother hare will reconnect with it, but it still has not moved when she returns. Since it's in the middle of a dirt road, she worries for its safety with its exposure to tractors and predators, so she carries it inside the safety of the stone wall of her gardens and into her home. This begins a wild adventure of bottled milk feedings and deep research to provide this tiny leveret the best possible chance for survival and release back into the wild.
Dalton never cages the hare, nor does she name it or cuddle it, as one would a pet. She is always careful to allow the animal full autonomy and the ability to come and go from her home as it pleases. As a result, it trusts her completely and will sleep beside her.
This unlikely friendship and touching narrative explores trust, freedom, and the delicate balance of companionship with a wild animal and what's in their best interest.
Dalton's writing is vivid and immersive; you can practically feel the fresh air and the wind and see the collection of wildflowers and plants in her garden. Hear the tractors across the fields, the leveret tapping on the glass to come into the house and see the hares hopping around the gardens and surrounding fields as the sun begins to set. Her ups and downs with the leveret—filled with uncertainty and happiness—are so heartfelt. You find yourself cheering for both her and her the hare as they figure out their unique bond and love for one another. It is truly beautiful to read!
Even more interesting is how Dalton weaves in fascinating facts about hares and their history in art and folklore, adding depth to her story. It’s a beautiful reminder that sometimes the best experiences come from the most unexpected places. And it was incredibly inspiring to see how this hare changed her in so many unique ways. "Raising Hare" is definitely worth a read if you’re looking for something that’s both captivating and heartwarming. Five stars all the way!
Thank you #NetGalley, #ChloeDalton, #Pantheon for the ARC in exchange for my honest review of #RaisingHare.
While living in the countryside, she stumbles upon a newborn wild hare (a leveret). She leaves the leveret for several hours, hoping the mother hare will reconnect with it, but it still has not moved when she returns. Since it's in the middle of a dirt road, she worries for its safety with its exposure to tractors and predators, so she carries it inside the safety of the stone wall of her gardens and into her home. This begins a wild adventure of bottled milk feedings and deep research to provide this tiny leveret the best possible chance for survival and release back into the wild.
Dalton never cages the hare, nor does she name it or cuddle it, as one would a pet. She is always careful to allow the animal full autonomy and the ability to come and go from her home as it pleases. As a result, it trusts her completely and will sleep beside her.
This unlikely friendship and touching narrative explores trust, freedom, and the delicate balance of companionship with a wild animal and what's in their best interest.
Dalton's writing is vivid and immersive; you can practically feel the fresh air and the wind and see the collection of wildflowers and plants in her garden. Hear the tractors across the fields, the leveret tapping on the glass to come into the house and see the hares hopping around the gardens and surrounding fields as the sun begins to set. Her ups and downs with the leveret—filled with uncertainty and happiness—are so heartfelt. You find yourself cheering for both her and her the hare as they figure out their unique bond and love for one another. It is truly beautiful to read!
Even more interesting is how Dalton weaves in fascinating facts about hares and their history in art and folklore, adding depth to her story. It’s a beautiful reminder that sometimes the best experiences come from the most unexpected places. And it was incredibly inspiring to see how this hare changed her in so many unique ways. "Raising Hare" is definitely worth a read if you’re looking for something that’s both captivating and heartwarming. Five stars all the way!
Thank you #NetGalley, #ChloeDalton, #Pantheon for the ARC in exchange for my honest review of #RaisingHare.
March 22, 2025
so beautiful.
to love an animal is to accept the reality of mortality, to know you’ll end up hurt, and still choosing to do it.
(how do i convince my husband to let me get another pet because now 5 doesn’t seem like enough)
(bradley if you see this im just kidding… kind of.)
to love an animal is to accept the reality of mortality, to know you’ll end up hurt, and still choosing to do it.
(how do i convince my husband to let me get another pet because now 5 doesn’t seem like enough)
(bradley if you see this im just kidding… kind of.)
January 15, 2025
What a great book, so happy I found it. When women such as Dalton write about nature they bring a tender poignancy to their experience. A great story about a woman who finds a leveret and then finds meaning in their quiet coexistence.
February 19, 2025
'Raising Hare' is one of the most heartwarming, beguiling, hopeful nature books I've read in years. Chloe Dalton has written an utterly fascinating account of how she came to accidentally end up raising a wild leveret in her home. Over the following days and weeks and years, the young hare grew and matured, and had babies itself, and every aspect of its development was an education for Dalton. I am lucky enough to occasionally glimpse hares in the countryside around my home, but I knew next to nothing about them before I read Dalton's book. Now, I feel as though I know so much more about this incredible creature. An animal that defies our attempts to hunt and kill it almost to extinction. 80% of British hares are gone, and their habitat is disappearing too. This story of one woman and her relationship with a wild hare gripped me from the start, and is a powerful call to arms to protect the hare before it's too late.
February 26, 2025
A truly beautiful story of the delicate flux between humans and nature.
This was both heart warming and concerning as it wove together the stewardship Dalton has over her wild hare and the respect she has for its independence and agency juxtaposed with the terrible impact hunting, farming and the diminishment of natural habitats on the hare's survival.
I loved Dalton's honesty about her personal journey from workaholic to treasuring small moments of natural, simple beauty. Whilst this is a story we've heard before I felt there was a raw vulnerability to this narrative that never felt twee or saccharine.
One slight criticism I had was that there were some fairly obvious proofreading/editing errors in this which were surprising for such a flagship publication of a major publisher and slightly galling after purchasing the hardback.
However, this is no reflection on Dalton's beautiful prose which is simple, yet profound and on that basis I am so glad I purchased this to keep and will look forward to rereading it in the future.
This was both heart warming and concerning as it wove together the stewardship Dalton has over her wild hare and the respect she has for its independence and agency juxtaposed with the terrible impact hunting, farming and the diminishment of natural habitats on the hare's survival.
I loved Dalton's honesty about her personal journey from workaholic to treasuring small moments of natural, simple beauty. Whilst this is a story we've heard before I felt there was a raw vulnerability to this narrative that never felt twee or saccharine.
One slight criticism I had was that there were some fairly obvious proofreading/editing errors in this which were surprising for such a flagship publication of a major publisher and slightly galling after purchasing the hardback.
However, this is no reflection on Dalton's beautiful prose which is simple, yet profound and on that basis I am so glad I purchased this to keep and will look forward to rereading it in the future.
April 3, 2025
Zu 90% geht es detailliert um Hasen, 10% sind, wie fast immer bei solchen Büchern, "hier alles, was ich mir angelesen habe zu dem Thema". Aber auch dieser Teil ist hier besser verstaut als anderswo, es sind keine Kapitel voller Füllmaterial, sondern eingestreute Stellen, und die Autorin tut nicht so, als sei sie selbst die Autorität, sondern fasst die Suchergebnisse in den Kontext ihrer eigenen Suche und ihrer eigenen Überlegungen ein.
Update, habe doch auf fünf Sterne erhöht, weil ich immer noch mehrmals täglich Sätze mit "Wusstest du, dass Feldhasen ..." und "Die Autorin mit dem Feldhasen ..." beginne.
Update, habe doch auf fünf Sterne erhöht, weil ich immer noch mehrmals täglich Sätze mit "Wusstest du, dass Feldhasen ..." und "Die Autorin mit dem Feldhasen ..." beginne.
March 8, 2025
Omg this was emotional from start to finish a must read if you’re an animal lover
September 6, 2024
This is without doubt the standout book of 2024 for me so far. I was enthralled throughout. Dalton lyrically combines the wonder of nature with facts and observations in her writing that makes it such a joy to read.
‘Raising Hare’ is the story of how one woman unexpectedly ended up rescuing a leveret and bringing it up in her house before it ventures back out into the wild. Only the story doesn’t end there, as while the hare is not tamed, it does form a bond with Dalton which is played out in various forms over several years. We journey with the author as she has to adapt to this new creature in her house of which she, at first, knows nothing about. As time passes the existence of the hare causes her own outlook on the world to change as she sees both beauty and dangers that lurk in the countryside.
This was such a wonderful book and it encapsulates the very best of nature writing. I turned the final page to be left with more knowledge about hares (which have always been one of my favourite animals) and also a determination to take time to notice all of the nature that surrounds me too. I was only disappointed that the book had to finish, I happily could have read many more chapters. A solid five stars!
‘Raising Hare’ is the story of how one woman unexpectedly ended up rescuing a leveret and bringing it up in her house before it ventures back out into the wild. Only the story doesn’t end there, as while the hare is not tamed, it does form a bond with Dalton which is played out in various forms over several years. We journey with the author as she has to adapt to this new creature in her house of which she, at first, knows nothing about. As time passes the existence of the hare causes her own outlook on the world to change as she sees both beauty and dangers that lurk in the countryside.
This was such a wonderful book and it encapsulates the very best of nature writing. I turned the final page to be left with more knowledge about hares (which have always been one of my favourite animals) and also a determination to take time to notice all of the nature that surrounds me too. I was only disappointed that the book had to finish, I happily could have read many more chapters. A solid five stars!
January 24, 2025
I loved the design of the cover, jacket and chapter ends of this book. However, the writing was lacking something. This authors style of writing might just not be for me. I enjoyed reading about the hare itself but felt a disconnect with all the info dumping. The information was good but didn’t blend in well with the memoir style that this was aiming for. It picked up pace and interest for me when the hare had her own leverets. I’m just disappointed in the writing overall as the premise was so intriguing but so surface level.
March 11, 2025
Pantheon gifted me with a review copy of this, and I don't say this often, but I think everyone should read Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton.
On the surface, sure, it is a story about Dalton finding a leveret and rescuing it, raising it. Beautifully written with such detailed descriptions. Dalton really has a knack for recalling such specific things that create quite a picture. This book made me pause and slow down, I'm thankful for that. I also learned quite a bit about hares, and news to me, how different they are from rabbits.
The reason I want everyone to read it is, well, I read beyond this being about a hare. To me, this book is about us. I think the easiest way to gain empathy is through reading. I think there is also a huge lack of empathy as of late. In this book, we learn (no surprise to most of us) that Dalton didn't sacrifice anything of herself taking care of the hare. She made space alongside herself, and she grew from the experience. She learned things, she saw things from a different perspective. In a sense, her world grew and flourished in new ways. Her life was enriched. I believe, without having a neon sign, that you all know where I'm going here... it is a brilliant, beautiful lesson that many people can learn from.
On the surface, sure, it is a story about Dalton finding a leveret and rescuing it, raising it. Beautifully written with such detailed descriptions. Dalton really has a knack for recalling such specific things that create quite a picture. This book made me pause and slow down, I'm thankful for that. I also learned quite a bit about hares, and news to me, how different they are from rabbits.
The reason I want everyone to read it is, well, I read beyond this being about a hare. To me, this book is about us. I think the easiest way to gain empathy is through reading. I think there is also a huge lack of empathy as of late. In this book, we learn (no surprise to most of us) that Dalton didn't sacrifice anything of herself taking care of the hare. She made space alongside herself, and she grew from the experience. She learned things, she saw things from a different perspective. In a sense, her world grew and flourished in new ways. Her life was enriched. I believe, without having a neon sign, that you all know where I'm going here... it is a brilliant, beautiful lesson that many people can learn from.
December 4, 2024
Author Chloe Dalton was not an animal person and not particularly an outdoorsy nature lover either. During the pandemic she left London for the countryside to work from home. While out on a stroll, she discovered an abandoned newborn hare - a leveret - that changed her life in ways she could not begin to predict. Keeping her contact with the un-named hare (she doesn't want it to be a pet) to a minimum, she intervenes just enough to ensure it survives and mostly observes with fascination its habits and personality. Beautiful, clear, informative writing with facts about hares; they're capable of superfetation, for their size they're faster than cheetahs and they smell like digestive biscuits. To be in the hare's proximity, Dalton is often drawn out of her cozy home and into nature, noticing much she hadn't before, and challenging modern farming practices. A few years ago I loved Helen Macdonald's H is for Hawk but I now think H is for .... Hare. Readers of Macdonald's memoir and Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass will find much to love in this absolute treasure of a book that shows how we can be expanded if we remain open to new experiences.
"I am content with the small part of her life that overlaps with mine. Ours are different worlds. She can cross into mine, but hers will always be out of reach to me, and that is as it should be." p267
"I am content with the small part of her life that overlaps with mine. Ours are different worlds. She can cross into mine, but hers will always be out of reach to me, and that is as it should be." p267
March 26, 2025
Shortlisted for the 2025 Women’s Prize, Nonfiction
Longlisted for the 2025 Women’s Prize, Nonfiction: 11/16
Shadow and sun, so too our lives are made.
Yet think how great the sun, how small the shade.
—motto on a sundial
such an amazing book!! in-progress rankings of some recent longlists in my bio. still sitting with this a bit, & going to read some interviews / reviews etc here shortly!
Longlisted for the 2025 Women’s Prize, Nonfiction: 11/16
Shadow and sun, so too our lives are made.
Yet think how great the sun, how small the shade.
—motto on a sundial
such an amazing book!! in-progress rankings of some recent longlists in my bio. still sitting with this a bit, & going to read some interviews / reviews etc here shortly!
December 9, 2024
Chloe Dalton has spent years as a political advisor and foreign policy specialist. She divided her time between London and a house in the country. When th Covid lockdowns forced us to retreat, she chose to live in the country. It was there on an evening walk that she discovered what appeared to be an abandoned leveret, a young hare. Her book magically charts what happened next.
Here is her first encounter:
She takes the little stranger into her home, thinking she is helping but soon discovering that to do so means it can never be returned to its mother. The smell of another on the little body means its mother will reject it and cease to feed it. Dalton faces the desperate realisation that she has done too much and tries to ask others, country dwellers with a better understanding of how such things might work, to take on the job of adoptive parents. It is soon clear that the job is hers alone.
What follows is beautiful story of watching and observing the little changes and the fast growth. And the trust that develops between wild animal and human. “I was only able to share its space because it allowed me to.”
Hoping to find out what a growing hare will eat she requests numerous books from the temporarily closed London Library. They all turn out to be a variety of ways to cook and eat a hare, nothing about feeding the, “To read these violent accounts in the leveret’s vicinity felt like a form of betrayal.”
Reaching the end of the book it is possible to see the journey that Dalton has taken as one about self-growth and self-awareness. At no point does she consider the hare as a pet and does all she can to allow it to come and go on its own terms. At times this leads to the terrifying prospect of loss. When the buzzards, foxes and owls are hunting and the hares doesn’t come home, or when the huge combine harvesters or giant ploughs are farming the landscape. One thing is certain, Dalton lives in a hare-rich part of England and is frequently able to see multiple hares in the fields around her home. That comes with a down-side when she inspects the fields in the days after harvest and ploughing and finds the bodies of multiple dead hares, frozen in fear by the approaching machinery and reduced to carrion for a variety of scavengers. Such observations allow her to question just how much we care about our environment and the creatures that live in it. For the first time she takes a real interest in the ecosystem that surrounds her little home.
From what she learns about the behaviour of the wild animal that shares her home she challenges many of the age-old myths about hares. The mad-March hare and the skittish fleeing animal are stereotypes which she rebuffs with her own close observation. What she finds is a wild animal that has very set routines and a regular time pattern. She finds that the boxing that we sometimes see as a behaviour in the wild is not between competing males, but between males and females.
At so many points Dalton challenges the conventional wisdom of what has been said and written about hares in the past, presenting us with a new better observed natural history of the hare. Her interest in the animal leads her to an interest in the plants which it needs to eat and so to the farming and conservation necessary to maintain a landscape in which a hare can survive and thrive.
This is a story about an animal which gives as much as the person to the story and leads Dalton to conclude with the following observation:
Sometimes a book like this, one that makes you think harder about your own experiences, will bring to mind something of your own. A few months ago as I walked into my kitchen the was a hare just outside the glass door. It froze and remained completely still, giving me time to watch and admire. It was only the second time in my life that I had been close to a hare although I had seen them at a distance, sometimes boxing in the roadside paddocks near Waipu Cove, and as a boy in the quiet field roads of Leicestershire. I was expecting the hare outside my door to bolt when I took a pace closer to the window. Instead, it lowered itself from standing to crouching and laid its long ears flat against its back. We held each other’s gaze for a long time and I was able to study the hare. Its ears were longer than its head and there was a rim of amber around its eye. A noise in the kitchen made me turn my head for a second and in that fleeting moment the hare was gone, impossible to see in any direction. All these memories came back to me reading this delightful book. The rare chance to share a moment with a wild animal.
Here is her first encounter:
The animal, no longer than the width of my palm, lay on its stomach with its eyes open and its short, silky ears held tightly against its back. Its fur was dark brown, thick and choppy, and grew in delicate curls along its spine. Long, pale guard hairs and whiskers stood out from its body and glowed in the weak sun, creating a corona of light around its rump and muzzle. Set against the bare earth and dry grass it was hard to tell where the fur ended and the ground began. It blended into the dead winter landscape so completely that, but for the rapid rise and fall of its flanks, I would have mistaken it for a stone. Its forepaws were pressed tightly together, fringed in fur the colour of bone and overlapping as if for comfort. Its jet black eyes were encircled with a thick, uneven band of creamy fur. High on its forehead was a distinct white mark that stood out like a minute dribble of paint. It did not stir as I came into view, but studied the ground in front of it, unmoving. Leveret.
She takes the little stranger into her home, thinking she is helping but soon discovering that to do so means it can never be returned to its mother. The smell of another on the little body means its mother will reject it and cease to feed it. Dalton faces the desperate realisation that she has done too much and tries to ask others, country dwellers with a better understanding of how such things might work, to take on the job of adoptive parents. It is soon clear that the job is hers alone.
What follows is beautiful story of watching and observing the little changes and the fast growth. And the trust that develops between wild animal and human. “I was only able to share its space because it allowed me to.”
Hoping to find out what a growing hare will eat she requests numerous books from the temporarily closed London Library. They all turn out to be a variety of ways to cook and eat a hare, nothing about feeding the, “To read these violent accounts in the leveret’s vicinity felt like a form of betrayal.”
Reaching the end of the book it is possible to see the journey that Dalton has taken as one about self-growth and self-awareness. At no point does she consider the hare as a pet and does all she can to allow it to come and go on its own terms. At times this leads to the terrifying prospect of loss. When the buzzards, foxes and owls are hunting and the hares doesn’t come home, or when the huge combine harvesters or giant ploughs are farming the landscape. One thing is certain, Dalton lives in a hare-rich part of England and is frequently able to see multiple hares in the fields around her home. That comes with a down-side when she inspects the fields in the days after harvest and ploughing and finds the bodies of multiple dead hares, frozen in fear by the approaching machinery and reduced to carrion for a variety of scavengers. Such observations allow her to question just how much we care about our environment and the creatures that live in it. For the first time she takes a real interest in the ecosystem that surrounds her little home.
From what she learns about the behaviour of the wild animal that shares her home she challenges many of the age-old myths about hares. The mad-March hare and the skittish fleeing animal are stereotypes which she rebuffs with her own close observation. What she finds is a wild animal that has very set routines and a regular time pattern. She finds that the boxing that we sometimes see as a behaviour in the wild is not between competing males, but between males and females.
At so many points Dalton challenges the conventional wisdom of what has been said and written about hares in the past, presenting us with a new better observed natural history of the hare. Her interest in the animal leads her to an interest in the plants which it needs to eat and so to the farming and conservation necessary to maintain a landscape in which a hare can survive and thrive.
This is a story about an animal which gives as much as the person to the story and leads Dalton to conclude with the following observation:
(the hare)…made me re-evaluate my life, and the question of what constitutes a good one. I have learnt to savour beautiful experiences while they last – however small and domestic they may be in scope – to find a simplicity of self. The sensation of wonder she ignited in me continues to burn, showing me that aspects of my life may be shaped or reshaped. She did not change, I did. I have not tamed the hare but, but in many ways the hare has stilled me.
Sometimes a book like this, one that makes you think harder about your own experiences, will bring to mind something of your own. A few months ago as I walked into my kitchen the was a hare just outside the glass door. It froze and remained completely still, giving me time to watch and admire. It was only the second time in my life that I had been close to a hare although I had seen them at a distance, sometimes boxing in the roadside paddocks near Waipu Cove, and as a boy in the quiet field roads of Leicestershire. I was expecting the hare outside my door to bolt when I took a pace closer to the window. Instead, it lowered itself from standing to crouching and laid its long ears flat against its back. We held each other’s gaze for a long time and I was able to study the hare. Its ears were longer than its head and there was a rim of amber around its eye. A noise in the kitchen made me turn my head for a second and in that fleeting moment the hare was gone, impossible to see in any direction. All these memories came back to me reading this delightful book. The rare chance to share a moment with a wild animal.
February 7, 2025
If you are interested in wildlife and the natural world you will love this book, as I did. It also made me feel very sad about the negative impact humanity often has on other living creatures.
August 26, 2024
There were parts of this book which I really loved. Unfortunately, there were also parts I didn’t.
During lockdown, Chloe was working from home in the countryside and found a leveret seemingly abandoned by her mother. Having left it, hoping for her mother to return, she realised that if she left it then it wouldn’t make it. She took it home, and took advice of feeding it and looking after it, until it was able to roam free. This wasn’t the end of the relationship as the hare spend many days and nights in Chloe’s house including giving birth to several sets of her own leverets.
I really enjoyed reading about the author’s interactions with the hare (she doesn’t give it a name as it is a wild animal), however, it did get bogged down in facts and information about hares generally and other animals, and those parts ruined the book for me.
During lockdown, Chloe was working from home in the countryside and found a leveret seemingly abandoned by her mother. Having left it, hoping for her mother to return, she realised that if she left it then it wouldn’t make it. She took it home, and took advice of feeding it and looking after it, until it was able to roam free. This wasn’t the end of the relationship as the hare spend many days and nights in Chloe’s house including giving birth to several sets of her own leverets.
I really enjoyed reading about the author’s interactions with the hare (she doesn’t give it a name as it is a wild animal), however, it did get bogged down in facts and information about hares generally and other animals, and those parts ruined the book for me.
December 29, 2024
Reading Raising Hare brought me so much joy! How amazing can it be to have the privilege of observing such an elusive creature in the comfort of your home?! How absolutely extraordinary for that same creature to allow you to be part of her world, a safe heaven for her babies? The ever fascinating animal world! And yes, indeed, we should do everything in our power to preserve it!
*Book from NetGalley with many thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read it!
*Book from NetGalley with many thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read it!
January 12, 2025
This book is about a lady rearing a Hare. That's it. I thought there may be more to it, but there isn't. No deep insight into anything other than rearing a Hare. I guess the clue is in the title.
March 31, 2025
Von „H wie Habicht“ ist es zu „H wie Hase“ ja eigentlich nicht mehr weit. Stimmt inhaltlich auch soweit, die Memoiren von Chloe Dalton darüber wie sie ein Hasenjunges aufzieht fallen ebenfalls in die Kategorie Nature Writing, wenn auch noch nicht so populär wie das Werk von Helen MacDonald. Allerdings habe ich „Hase und ich“ um einiges lieber gelesen, als die Geschichte über den Habicht, einfach weil Chloe Dalton weniger ausschweifend erzählt. Sie nimmt sich zwar Zeit für einige Infos über die Beschreibung von wilden Hasen und diverse Details über die Natur und Hasenlebensraum im Allgemeinen, bleibt aber stets nah an der Haupthandlung. Diese beschreibt sie ruhig, in klarer Sprache und lädt wirklich dazu ein etwas über die Natur zu sinnieren. Zwar bräuchte ich kein Hasenbaby um zu erkennen, das ein hektisches Berufsleben ohne Natur nicht als Non-Plus-Ultra anzusehen ist, die Autorin aber eben schon – und das bringt sie auch ohne Kitsch auf den Punkt. Eine ruhige und zärtliche Erzählung – nicht nur für die Osterzeit.
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