I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I find hates adorable so I was hoping this book to be light and sweet but actually it has a lot of facts and information, some of it more interesting to me than others. I was very hooked on the paragraphs that explored the symbolism and place of hares in literature and less involved in the more scientific aspects of it, and it felt even boring at times.

Dalton, writer and political advisor, quasi-fosters an injured baby leveret she finds on her property in the English countryside. She works from home during Covid lockdown; on her own, she learns the skills she needs to care for the hare. Much of the book includes Dalton’s research on hares, including the symbolism bore in history, superstition, and expectation. In literature, Shakespeare and Aesop's Fables invariably employ hares as an emblem of fearfulness. But Dalton avers, this could not be farther from the truth in her experience: her hare is tenacious and courageous. The author does not leave out any virtue in describing her hare. “Elsewhere,” Dalton reads, “the hare is described as easily distracted, trembling, highly strongly, melancholy, and strange. This too could not contrast more shapely with my experience.” Time and time again, the author opines that the dubious assertions in her research “[do] not accord with the scene . . . observed in the garden.” Through the author’s close study, our collective sample size of the nature of hares increases.

The author consistently weighs the cost of her actions, balancing harming the hare through domestication and providing the necessary (which I suppose is subjective) help so that the hare can survive and thrive. She’s mindful of not physically touching the creatures while feeding them. As the hare heals and ages, it reaches natural milestones, such as exploring the land with great independence and producing litters of offspring. This placates Dalton; it seems she’s raising a hare that will be a productive member of society. Meanwhile, Dalton’s home evolves to accommodate her exceptionally clean long-staying visitors: “Perception of indoors and outdoors [dissolve] . . . since leaving part of the house permanently open . . . to the elements.” Every nook and cranny and carpeted surface is shared between human and mother hare and her baby leverets.

Readers will sympathize with Dalton’s powers of observation and growth in attuning to nature. Before encountering the hare, she describes her work as “gripping and fouled with adrenaline.” However, the hare’s simple, calm, and orderly life woke Dalton’s sleepy senses. Functionally, she adjusts to accommodate the hare and other nocturnal creatures; she rediscovers “the pleasure of attachment to a place and a 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.” On a more profound or personal level, the author’s perception of the world opens up.

The facts about hares in cultural history, literature, and encyclopedias were less interesting to me. Her research backdrops her contemplations, which she only offers more deeply after thoroughly sharing her findings at the front end of the book. I thought I wanted Dalton’s methodical self-reflection in these earlier sections. Yet, the way she structures the book works well because readers need the biological and historical groundwork to grasp how the elegant and precious hare changes Dalton. She’s evidently a gifted writer and composes tender sentences that focus more on the hare than herself. For these reasons, I round up from 3.5 to 4 stars.

My thanks to Pantheon and NetGalley for an ARC. I shared this review on GoodReads on April 15, 2025 (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7482786395).

https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/214269337-raising-hare

I always enjoy reading a memoir and this one doesn't disappoint. It gave me a sense of calm to live in Chloe Dalton's world for a little while. I would read more books like this one. This is the power of love for the natural world.

A genuinely singular work, Raising Hare is a wrenching memoir by a career-obsessed Londoner (Chloe Dalton) forced face to face with nature due to the confluence of the COVID pandemic and sheer happenstance of discovering a lone baby hare during an evening stroll at her countryside escape.

The memoir tracks Dalton’s relationship with this hare from days after its birth throughout her young adulthood in present day. There is not much of a “plot” to speak of - instead, the author meditatively documents in exacting detail the routines and habits of this adamantly wild animal. As a professional speechwriter, Dalton has a clear faulty with language. Although there are mercifully few “sad” moments in this book, my eyes welled with tears throughout reading, in large part due to the tenderness and beauty of her reverent prose (full disclosure, I am also an avid animal lover and a volunteer wildlife preservation educator, so this book hit especially close to home).

As I wrote this review on my iPad, my device repeatedly insisted I change the word “leveret” to "lever". The absurd irony is this struggle perfectly encapsulates the core tension of this book -how human progress has driven a widening chasm between man and nature and exponentially accelerated the destruction of ecosystems that support a tapestry of life. As humans and our dystopian technology launch us closer towards a climate collapse, Raising Hare is a desperate call to consciousness.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC.

I absolutely loved this book. It is so sensitively written and the author has incredible self-awareness about choices she makes in rescuing an abandoned baby hare. Reading this book, I could totally imagine her home and the spaces where the hare spent time with her and alone. She brings awareness about the harm caused by modern farming and massive machinery plowing fields and destroying habitats. I could not put this book down and happened upon an Instagram post of her feeding the baby hare- you have to watch it! The natural rhythms of life and nature start to take effect on how she chooses to live her life and she begins to become more mindful of how she chooses to live. The timing of this reflection was perfect - given it was during the Covid pandemic and she was stuck at home instead of traveling all over for work. But the lessons of slowing down and paying attention certainly stuck with her. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

I absolutely loved this book! I enjoy books about nature and animals, and this one soothed the soul. I learned a lot about hares while enjoying the author's moving story about how this little animal changed her life.

I appreciate NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Raising Hare is a heartwarming nature memoir about finding and raising a leveret in the English countryside. I honestly hadn't realized how much about hares remains unknown. One of my favorite parts of Raising Hare is all the historical and literature recounts of hares over the centuries. Descriptions of the countryside and of animals making it their home are a delight and wonderfully recounted.

Sadly for me, I felt the author kept the reader too much at arm's length and as a result, it lacked some of the emotional introspection I love with memoirs. There's a missing connection to the physical place that this memoir is set within, and I had to rely on my own experience of the British countryside to really conceptualize the countryside.

Nevertheless, this memoir works well as a reminder of the interconnectedness of humans and wildlife.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I heard so many good things about Raising Hare that when I received an opportunity to read it, I knew I had to do it. This book is truly incredible, well written, lyrical prose. This could have been a short story, this could have been a boring story. But it is a whole book, and it is touching, moving, inspirational, has all the feels. Exploring the connection between humans and nature, the delicate balance, knowing when to follow the rules, when to break the rules, and when to make your own rules. This wonderful story will stay with me for a very long time. 4.5 stars!

Raising Hare is such a lovely story. At first, I thought it was going to be a mundane story about someone raising a wild animal in captivity, but it's so much more than that. The writing style is straight forward yet kept me entertained the whole time and it is such a sweet story about freedom and empathy. Definitely recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and Pantheon for the ARC!

Chloe Dalton’s "Raising Hare" is a lovely, low-key piece of nature writing, and readers will have to decide for themselves if that’s enough.

The premise is every animal-loving child’s dream—finding a wild animal baby and caring for it. Across a brief 300-ish pages, the author describes her experience in doing just that, and the result is a warmhearted read with almost non-existent stakes. It feels safe, and I appreciated that.

Like many COVID-birthed projects, there’s an almost obsessive form of attention at play here. Dalton poured herself into learning about hares, and while much of what she shares is fascinating, it isn’t exactly memoir—I didn’t know jackrabbits were American hares, but I also don’t know that it really matters without more context. Ultimately, we never get a sense of where the hare fit into Dalton’s life because, during lockdowns, it was the sum of her life. That's not a critique as much as a reflection of the headspace we were all in, but it does shape the scope of the book.

It’s a little silly that "Raising Hare" is marketed as some sort of philosophical “meditation.” It is very sweet and generally interesting, but it has very little to say about “our place as human beings in nature,” as Matt Haig puts it. I actually think it’s a disservice to Dalton’s work to burden it with such pretense. She keeps the scope of her book deliberately small, eschewing abstraction in favor of affectionate descriptions of, say, the mechanics of a leveret yawn. In fact, in moments where Dalton does reflect on what the hare “taught” her, the writing feels trite—we can’t truly own wild animals.

Despite those critiques, I really enjoyed my time learning more about these animals, and I think certain readers—like my veterinarian sister—would adore the book.

It felt like this book could have been about half the length and been just as enjoyable. Or perhaps this was just not the introspective internal monologue book interspersed with animal knowledge I was looking for.
This book does contain very many varied facts about hares. All were interesting to know.
I don’t want to give spoilers but if you need a true ending…this may not be your cup of tea.
I received a ARC of this title, all opinions are my own.

this digital copy was very difficult to read formatting wise, but the book was very good! loved reading about the bunnies

Ahoy there me mateys!  One of my favorite childhood books was Watership Down along with its scary animated movie (poor Bigwig!).  I did not know much about hares and have to admit that I thought they were more closely related to rabbits given hares' nickname of jackrabbits.  When I learned about this memoir of a woman raising a baby hare during the pandemic, I knew I had to read it.

Though it takes place during the pandemic, the focus is not at all on the pandemic itself.  The book is a mixture of memoir and naturalist guide.  The memoir side touches on how the hare helped change the author's perspectives on her home, the countryside it exists in, and her viewpoints of her job and sense of self.  The nature side gives animal facts about hares and the hare she raised in particular.   There are also quotes from historical writing about hares which I really enjoyed.  Just be aware that there are discussions about the history of hunting hares in parts of the book.

One of the interesting things about the author is that she owns up to her mistakes in dealing with the hare while not regretting the experience.  I enjoyed her personal reflections on the relationships between humans and wildlife and how they changed over time.  The writing was easy to follow and I read this book quickly.  I avidly followed the hare's life and all of the details about it living in the author's house and the accommodations she made for it.

My ebook copy did not showcase the illustrations very well so folks may want to get the physical copy for those if interested.  I am very glad to have read this one and learn more about the subject.  Arrrr!

4.5 rounded up

This book was a delightful surprise! I was captivated by the author's experience raising a hare. Charlotte Mason would describe this memoir as a living book because it can be used to learn a ton about hares without being a boring regurgitation of facts that you would find in a textbook. The writing is engaging and beautiful and made me feel very connected to the hare and the author's connection to it. This book will not be for everyone, but if you are looking for a comfort read and are a lover of the miracles of nature,specifically hares, I recommend this lovely story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this wonderful story in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book was a delightful read. It's a beautifully written story that will make you look at nature in a whole new way.
I highly recommend this heartwarming book.
I received a complimentary copy from Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor via NetGalley and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

What a treasure!! This book is on the longlist for the Women's Nonfiction Prize this year, and the honor is well deserved. I was fascinated by the story of this hare, and also the woman who raised her. The descriptions of the natural world are so beautiful, and I learned so much. I highly recommend this lovely book!!

Such a beautiful story! I learned so much about hares I never knew. Dalton has a way of writing that keeps you interested and engaged. It's a heart-warming tale that will make you look and care about the natural world in a new and profound way.

Raising Hare was a beautiful tale of a woman who ends up cohabitating with a wild hare. By taking care of this leveret, she is able to glimpse much about the lifespan/lifestyle of wild hares. This was a well-written reflection that touched on topics of nature, conservation, isolation, and the pace of life. I loved Dalton’s writing and the sprinkled drawings of hares were such a nice touch.

I’d highly recommend this novel to all readers! This stunning tale has something to teach us all.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for a copy of this work. All opinions are my own.

Chloe Dalton sounded like a workaholic before the COVID shutdown. She was the type of person who went outside during social gatherings to take work related cell phone calls. What really altered her life, however, was she found a motherless baby hare that she decided to take home and try to save. The wildlife person she contacted told her the chance of the hare surviving was slight, but she gave it a go and succeeded. The female hare would then be free to go outside and stay there when it was grown, but it decided to come and go, staying in the house whenever she wanted.

That did make her a semi-pet, even though the author repeatedly claimed she was not a pet, and that's why she didn't name her. She also didn't get into the matter of if the hare was housebroken, as well as the matter of fleas and ticks. Even litter box trained house rabbits aren't always totally housebroken. Plus, I've rescued baby bunnies from cats in the past and all had tiny ticks all over them. Instead, Ms. Dalton focuses on how profoundly the hare changed her life and made her appreciate nature in ways she never did before.

She starts to notice things in the outdoor world in a way a hare would notice things, from vegetation to field plowing to artificial light at night. Some readers will possibly think she goes too far in all of her observations and recommendations of ways humans can better coexist with the animal world. They may see her as becoming a nature workaholic. I personally found the book enjoyable and educational. I've had pet rabbits and have watched wild rabbits for decades. Hares aren't exactly the same as rabbits, but all lagomorphs are interesting, and very hard not to love and not to want to protect.

On a cold winter’s day in the English countryside, Chloe Dalton discovered a leveret (a hare in its first year of life) needing protection from the elements.  After waiting several hours to ensure its mother was not returning, Dalton gathered the wee leveret atop handfuls of grass so she did not touch it directly.

“Raising Hare: A Memoir” (Pantheon, 2025) is Dalton’s experience of raising the leveret beginning in 2021 during the height of COVID-19 lockdowns. Like many urban professionals, Dalton left London for her remodeled barn home as sheltering-in-place orders heightened.  A foreign policy advisor with over a decade working in the UK Parliament, if she “had an addiction, it was to the adrenaline rush of responding to events and crises…”

Although Dalton and a friend were both set up for remote work in the countryside, juxtaposing her work priorities with feeding a leveret with a pipette, for example, is one of my favorite parts of the book. Pets, children, and nature inherently interfere with the finer details of work and travel schedules. The combination of COVID-19 and the leveret in Dalton’s household permits a gentleness, a slower pace, to her previously harried life of politics.

The other part of “Raising Hare” that I found so compelling?  The serendipity! Dalton did not name the leveret, nor did she cage it. (I understand not caging it, but I practically named it while reading the book.) Her research skills aided tremendously in accumulating hare knowledge, which is not as readily available for as their domesticated cousins: rabbits. Also, her home encircles a small garden, which offers a safe place for the leveret to explore. 

For readers of Helen McDonald’s “H is for Hawk,” Catherine Raven’s “Fox and I,” and Carl Safina’s “Alfie and Me.”

Thank you to Chloe Dalton, Pantheon, and NetGalley for the eARC.