Raising Hare: A Memoir

by Chloe Dalton

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.

“A beautiful book that makes you think profoundly about how we so often tune out the natural world around us. Chloe Dalton is a tender, curious, wise, mind-expanding guide, connecting readers with the wild we humans once knew so well. I will be recommending this to everyone.”
—Matt Haig, author of The Midnight Library

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Nature, Animals, Audiobook, Biography, Biography Memoir

289 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 4, 2025

Reviews

[Stephen the Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winner of the Wainwright prize for nature writing 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/ 2025 superb!

[Brady Lockerby]

books like this are the exact reason why i will never stop talking about and recommending non-fiction! there are so many stories out there that are of course entertaining, but also educational at the same time, but in a fun way! i listed to this one on audio and loved the narrator + you get a bonus q&a at the end with the author

[Bloss ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Jakob J. 🎃]

Like 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.

[Carolyn Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The connection we (humans) share with animals is something I’ve always been very passionate about.
I believe we have endless things to learn from the creatures that live among us, and we have a very special role in their lives as well. We have a responsibility to uphold, and that responsibility is to protect and respect these animals and the lands they inhabit.
Chloe Dalton is a perfect example of the kind of person the natural world needs.

In February 2021, Dalton stumbled upon a newborn hare—a leveret—that had been chased by a dog.
Fearing for its life, she brought it home, only to discover how difficult it is to *raise* a wild hare, most of whom perish in captivity from either shock or starvation. Through trial and error, she learned to feed and care for the leveret with every intention of returning it to the wilderness. Instead, it became 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, weasels, feral cats, raptors, or even people, she never tried to restrict it to the house. Each time the hare left, Chloe knew she may never see it again. Yet she also understood that to confine it would be its own kind of death.

I admire Chloe Dalton’s kind heart and willingness to listen and tend to the hare’s needs. She respected the hare and the hare respected her. That is the truth of life and nature. Mutual respect (and love) is what we all deserve!

Thank you, Chloe Dalton, for sharing your (and hare’s) story with the world! It was an honor and a joy to read!

[Diane Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolutely beautiful book, with a much needed message for all of us. Like everyone, this author was forced to slow down and reconsider things during the pandemic. She went to her converted barn in the countryside close to London. Finding a baby hare and raising it was completely foreign to her nature, but it ended up teaching her so much about herself and the natural world, and how important wildness is to all of us. I love that this has become a bestseller and has won so many awards, maybe there is hope for us yet.

[Alina ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

☆☆☆☆

Raising Hare was such a lovely read. I’m a big fan of British nature writing, and Chloe Dalton’s style really impressed me: calm, thoughtful, and beautifully observant without ever feeling overdone. I loved how her personal experiences and the landscape just naturally fit together on the page.

Also, shoutout to the interview at the end with the audiobook narrator, it was a really fun, unexpected extra and made me appreciate the book even more. If you enjoy quiet, reflective writing rooted in nature, this is definitely worth picking up.

[Megan Gibbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 ☺️

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.”

[Hannah Greendale (Hello, Bookworm) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely little tribute to the world we share with animals (especially hares).🐰

👉 Check out my 2025 Women's Prize reads on BookTube. 📚🐛



"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.

[Emma Deplores Goodreads Censorship · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Aoife Cassidy McM · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

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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[Keri Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a heartwarming and sweet book of how humans often overlook things in the natural world, but the wonder and joy we can find when we slow down. During the pandemic lockdown, the author Chloe Dalton decides to stay at her country cottage. One day while on a walk she finds a newborn hare (leveret) that has been lost and without its mother.

Chloe can’t bear to leave it to die so she wraps it up and takes it home. She researches how to feed it… it is so tiny she is certain it will die. But with her care, it grows. Chloe is determined not to make it a pet, but return it to the wild once it’s old enough. Hares cannot be domesticated the way rabbits can.

Over time the leveret explores her house, and she starts to take it outside for short periods. They develop a relationship. Not as pet and owner, but as two living together in harmony. Chloe allows the hare to take the lead and at times it will wander further afield, but it returns.

The author lets us share in this beautiful relationship and you can’t help but imagine yourself in this cottage with hares hopping around! It’s a fairly gentle and slower paced book, but it is perfect to absorb this wonderful debut book. I listened to the audiobook, and at the end is a discussion between author and narrator.

[Emmkay · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely book. Dalton is a busy professional brought up short by the enforced slowing of the pandemic. Relocated to the country, she rescues an abandoned baby hare she finds on a pathway, having waited several hours to see if its mother would return for it. Anxiously, she tries to optimize her environment for the hare’s survival. This includes seeking out as much information as she can find, but most information on hares available in the books she orders is about hunting them and cooking them - though she learns some invaluable tips about what to feed the hare from William Cowper, the eighteenth century poet, who kept hares. I loved how conscientiously she strove not to force her will on the hare, instead trying to discern its needs and do it no harm.

Dalton’s relationship with and coexistence with the hare comes to reshape her perception of the world around her, as well as to enhance her powers of observation and understanding. And what a bounty results for the reader. Such beautiful, touching finely drawn observations of the hare and of the natural world, and such a powerful way of turning the reader’s attention to the hidden marvels of the landscape that we run roughshod over with our road-building and intensive agriculture. Really stirring.

[Sophy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Jamie Aiken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could not handle how pretentious this author was. “I didn’t want to name The Hare because giving it a name would take away The Hare’s autonomy as a wild animal” Girl this thing is sleeping in your bed and giving birth in your house. Be serious

[Stephanie ~~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

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! ~

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐+++

[ritareadthat · Rating 4 out of 5]

What does it mean to be wild and free? For an animal, we will never know that answer due to lack of speech. But I feel that this book comes close to capturing the awe of observing something wild, and achieving a fragment of understanding of what it means to be free.

Raising Hare is a memoir by the author who found herself home-bound during COVID in the English countryside. She stumbles upon a newborn hare (aka leveret) and unknowing what to do with the poor creature, she takes it home. What ensues is tenderness and care, diligence in her desire to keep it as wild as possible. She doesn't name it, she touches it minimally. She adjusts her entire life to care for this hare and to not disturb its natural patterns and habits. What a feat of generosity and love for a wild creature. There are comical moments, tense moments and sadness. A wide range of emotions are felt as we observe what happens.

This book treads the line between leaving a wild thing wild and imposed domesticity. I think Chloe Dalton succeeded in keeping her hare as wild as possible. I appreciated the detailed account of her daily life with this creature; the ups and downs involved in caring for it, the struggle she underwent with the morality of pseudo-domestication of the leveret, and all of the autodidactism she undertook to learn about the breed and it's place in history.

One of my favorite phrases to use is "quiet and unassuming" and this book is that. It is gentle in its approach, however there does lie a thread of anticipation and expectancy, as the escalation of the fate of the hare is slow and meandering. A fine balance occurs here in this book, and I think that the author pulled it off exceedingly well.

Recommended for those who will appreciate : nature and wildlife, memoirs, the history of hares, rural England, the impacts of farming on wildlife

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chloe runs across a young hare on its own in the wild and, a bit impulsively, brings the hare inside her house to safety. She has a great deal of trouble finding out how to care for a wild hare, and she isn't given much hope of the animal surviving, but she presses on, feeding the hare, keeping it away from predators, yet trying to minimize her contact with the hare and keep it wild.

It's a gentle story of a developing relationship, with Dalton's careful observations and research into hares. It is exactly what I needed in these fraught days.

[Tania · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written, moving and thought provoking memoir. When the author comes across a leveret on a track near her house, she initially leaves it, but when it becomes clear that the mother isn't coming back, she takes it home and manages to rear it herself with the intention of releasing it back into the wild. She never tries to tame it, or even name it, the hare sets the bounderies of their relationship. This leads to a quite extrodinary story, and the author gains a new respect for nature, and particularly hares; and is quite simply a fabulous read. Highly recommended.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated. Lovingly rendered. Dalton's transformation from a hare's benighted protector to keen observer of the natural world is inspiring. Given how little she apparently knew about zoology and botany at the start, it's also an impressive development.

3.5 stars

[Lori Keeton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is certainly a book for animal lovers of all kinds — dog people, cat people, bird people, even reptile people – if you love another living being that isn’t a human – you’re going to fall in love with this book!

I reveled at the opportunity that Ms. Dalton had when she stumbled upon a newborn leveret (hare) in the field near her house contemplating what to do? Leave it or try to save it? Leaving it – it could die. Touching it – it could be rejected and die. Bringing it to her home – what was she thinking? Ms. Dalton made the right choice in feeling compelled to give it a chance to survive! She got to spend several years as the central figure to this “little one” she so heartily “raised.”

What I loved about this was the tenderness she felt for this creature and the way she studied and learned all she could about hares – not at all like rabbits and not domesticated. She kept the leveret’s natural instincts in her mind’s eye watching it grow and learn to make its way in its own natural world despite being “raised” in a home near a human. Chloe Dalton experienced what very few if any other people have in her time in her country house during Covid. She got to bottle feed a baby hare and let it live under her roof and watch it hop around her home drumming its paws on the bed when it wanted her attention. The hare lived roaming the countryside by day and returning to her garden and into her home to rest, eat porridge and play. The bond they form is just so touching and their interactions are priceless.

What was so special was what each gave to the other. Ms. Dalton’s newfound appreciation for nature and life allowed her to slow down, observe more and live in the moment. She even became more aware of how humans and the environment affect habitats and was able to help procure some changes.

Such a beautiful and meaningful book that everyone should find time for.

[Matthew Ted · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Sweet book. During lockdown, Dalton, political advisor (used to the mania of London and travelling back and forth to the Middle-East), stumbles across a leveret on a path near to the cottage in England she also owns (though rarely lives in). Nature is best left alone, so she leaves it; but four hours later, it was still in the same place. So, she folds: she will care for it.

The glaring issue is that most information about hares involves how best to hunt them. Dalton becomes obsessed. So the book is an investigation not only into the history of hares and their destruction, but also a close study of Dalton's particular hare. I won't spoil all the joy of her descriptions of the hare's behaviour (and personality!), but these are some of my favourite quotes.

George Gascoigne, who published, in 1575, The Noble Art of Venery or Hunting, includes a strange poem (from the perspective of a hare!) amongst detailed instructions of every possible way to hunt hares:

Are minds of men, become so voyde of sense,
That they can joye to hurte a harmlesse thing?
A sillie beast, whiche cannot make defence?
A wretche? A worme that can not bite, nor sting?
If that be so, I thanke my Maker than,
For makying me, a Beast and not a Man.

And other quotes from Dalton herself, who, by caring for the hare, came to understand the tapestry of nature, that is entirely interwoven; all things are connected.

'She [the hare] needed nothing from me other than that I do her no harm, which might serve as a motto for all wild animals.'

'When we cut down a stand of trees, or erect a fence, we are cutting across trails, or removing shelter or food sources, that have been used by wildlife for generations.'

'Under the subtle influence of the hare, my own wants have simplified. To be dependable in love and friendship more than in work. To leave the land in a more natural state than I found it. And to take better care of what is to hand, seeing beauty and value in the ordinary.'

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a lovely memoir that follows a workaholic political advisor/British writer and a newborn hare (leveret) she rescues and takes into her English countryside home during the COVID lockdown. Raised on Darwinism, Dalton did not treat the leveret as a pet, nor name her, and seldom touched her. She took care in keeping the hare to its wildness, while feeding and maintaining its survival by learning what foods it ate, and turning her house into a free-range shelter. The young leveret came and went as it wanted, its choice to stay or go, indoor or out. As the leveret, now hare, grew older how wonderful for Dalton to discover the hare had given birth (several times) to little leverets of her own. This touching and sweetly told story of human and animal co-existing is a testament to how deeply we can feel about experiencing and understanding nature around us. For Dalton this experience changed her outlook for the better, to slow down and enjoy the little things in life. ❥ 5 stars — Pub. 3/4/25

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having just finished this, I can say that I liked but didn’t love it. I felt a disconnect from the writer and didn’t feel she invited us the reader in to her world quite so readily as she does the hare. I guess I wanted more of a nature memoir but this book remains focused on the hare’s comings and goings, studies of its appearance and behaviour. While the facts and excerpts about hares were ok and added an extra layer of detail everything just felt…impersonal and closed off. I also found myself glossing over at times and that there was some repetition. I liked her endearing descriptions of the hare’s behaviour in and around the house and I loved the drawings dotted throughout and the beautifully illustrated cover. Just lacking something for me and written from a guarded, privileged position.

[Rob Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely, wise, transformative recounting of Dalton’s years of co-existence with a wild hare and its offspring.

Every page moved and enlightened me in some way as Dalton poetically and brilliantly tells the story of this beautiful animal, how it came into her life and changed her forever.

Along with her personal narrative, Dalton makes a strong and much-needed argument for how humans as a species need to alter the way they think about the wild and how they co-exist with it. “There is no reason why”, she observes, "we could not decide to give a little more space to hares and other creatures and to take a little less ourselves.”

This book deserves to be added to the pantheon of nature classics.

Save the animals!

[Richard Spindle · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.