Raising Hare

A Memoir

De: Chloe Dalton

Narrado por: Louise Brealey

Short-listed, Women's Prize for Non-Fiction, 2025

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.

*This audiobook includes a bonus conversation between the author and narrator, available in audio only.

“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

©2025 Chloe Dalton (P)2025 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

LitHub’s #1 Best-Reviewed Nonfiction of the Month

One of the Christian Science Monitor’s Best Books of March

One of Kirkus's 20 Books You Won't Believe Are Debuts

“Dalton’s clear, measured prose and Denise Nestor’s delicate drawings provide . . . a bit of solace in a world that has now returned to an even more frenetic state. In Raising Hare, nature, indeed, takes its course.”—The New York Times

“Endearing and enlightening.”—The Washington Post

“Ms. Dalton has given us a portrait, both ephemeral and real, of a ‘creature of habit, set hours and favorite places, that walks so lightly on this earth, and that can be trusting on its own terms.’ She seems to share Hare’s traits of serenity, stillness and alertness to danger. It’s a testament to her skills of observation that the two reflect and enhance each other in unexpected, often remarkable ways.”—Wall Street Journal

Heartwarming

Loved hearing this amazing story! Highly recommend! So nice to hear a story of warmth and comfort, during these troubled times.

Thank you, Chloe!

Superb! Love letter to Mother Nature & to all who care enough to observe & treasure these fragile creatures!

Beautifully Written

As a lover and mom of 3 buns this touched my heart and ripped it out as well as opened my eyes to many things I’d never thought about.

An engaging quiet story

Beautifully written , excellent narration. Its been a long time since a new book really delighted me

Great story, Great listen!

Anyone who has been fortunate enough to connect deeply with animals will thoroughly enjoy this memoir. I’m speaking not only on ‘as a pet’ level but that deeper connectivity that most humans won’t experience in their life. Those unfortunates will have missed such a joyful part of life.

I thank the author for her humaneness, as well as the reader for her talent.

Sweet Story

I really enjoyed this hare story because I live in southern New England and I’m only familiar with Cottontail rabbits. I love the historical quotes and Chloe’s details about living with hares. And the narration was hypnotic. What a wonderful memoir!

Beautiful writing, profound story

One of the most memorable books I’ve ever experienced. The writing and storytelling were superb. It makes you want to slow down and observe your own environment.

Beautiful and Profound

A book not to be missed by any nature lover, and perhaps even more so by those who are lacking a connection with nature. As someone who has had a pet rabbit and come to understand how complex and misunderstood they are, I was nevertheless amazed and awed by the finely observed character of the hare and its dignity, endearing, quirks, joyfulness and yes, wisdom. The author does a terrific job of integrating her observations and feelings about the hare with the broader context of the plight of wildlife besieged by modern society in a way that is informative, but not preachy. A joy to read, this book will stay with me.