A gentle heart-warming read, that tells the true-life tale of a woman who becomes the unexpected care-giver for a newborn European brown hare, known as a Leveret, when she finds it in a vulnerable and seemingly abandoned position in a remote UK region. With infinite tenderness, the author, a former obsessed career woman on home duty due to the Covid pandemic, gradually feels her life expanding — curling around the needs and wonder of living with, and caring for, a wondrously wild creature.

As the relationship between human to hare moves from fear of causing harm to tender and tenuous partnership, the authors enrapture with a creature few people will ever experience so closely becomes apparent. The result is an awe-inspiring read, and one that cannot help but open a readers eyes to the world around us, — the world we are creating through mass agriculture, pesticide use, deforestation and construction — and the devastating impact wrought on the homeland of a multitude of creatures, historically rooted and living their lives, throughout it all.

Despite warnings of the difficulties in tending a wild animal, and mindful of respecting the hare’s undomesticated nature (unlike its much better known cousin — the rabbit) the author’s journey is inspiring — an intricate balance of kindness and nurture, always from arms-length, and the sing-song of love and gradually releasing dependence that follows, as the hare ultimately grows and matures.

Without giving too much detail away, this is a beautiful story without the heartbreak ending such stories often include. For this reader, (unable to tolerate animal cruelty in any form) the story reached all the right places (both heart and mind), with only a handful of pages, easily identified in advance, detailing the horrors of hare hunting practices that needed to be skipped.

Highly recommended, this quietly majestic little book may be just what a reader needs — a reminder of our crumbly footing, not on top of, but inside and connected to, a wider world— with all our sister creatures, around us.

A great big thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All thoughts provided are my own.

Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton is a deeply personal true story about the author's life-changing encounter with a hare and their subsequent relationship and bond. Descriptions of its sounds, paws, feedings, jumping into Chloe's lap and the ultimate form of trust melted me into a puddle.

Covid necessitated a stay in the countryside. When Chloe saw a tiny leveret she left it alone, hoping its mother would return to it. But hours later that wasn't the case. She carefully checked for injuries and scooped it up surrounded by leaves to prevent direct human contact. After consulting everyone she could about feeding and rescuing, Chloe discovered raising wild hares wasn't done. It just wouldn't work due to their needs, characteristics and habitat. But gaining positive response after feeding it, Chloe began to experiment with building nests and houses. Trial and error were constants but both human and animal came to appreciate and rely on interaction.

Described are the hare's anatomy, seasonal changes in appearance, metabolic rate, sensitivity to changes in its home environment, food it (dis)liked, its need for independence, and mutual fondness. Life wasn't without danger as well, mostly from humans.

I like that Chloe learned from mistakes and persevered in finding solutions, the very best way is to fall down and get back up. The illustrations add a personal touch to the hare I feel a kinship with! Particularly touching are the lessons Chloe learned about herself, her priorities, new gratification for nature and preservation in general. Like her, I study animals (I live in forest) and completely relate to her intense desire to make changes to better nature and humans by observing and learning.

My sincere thank you to Canongate Books and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this engrossing book.

Heartfelt and educational read about the authors encounter with a baby hare and the resultant relationship that developed.