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Raising Hare

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2025

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Raising Hare

By: Chloe Dalton
Narrated by: Louise Brealey
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THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING

WINNER OF BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARD
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION, HATCHARDS AND BIOGRAPHERS' CLUB FIRST BIOGRAPHY PRIZE
A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE HAY FESTIVAL, SUNDAY TIMES, THE TIMES, FINANCIAL TIMES, SPECTATOR AND iNEWS

'A beautiful book' - ANGELINA JOLIE
'I will be recommending this to everyone' - MATT HAIG
'Quietly profound, beautifully written, Hare is now lodged in my heart' - TRACY CHEVALIER

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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 snoozed in your house for hours on end. This happened to me.

When lockdown led busy professional Chloe to leave the city and return to the countryside of her childhood, she never expected to find herself custodian of a newly born hare. Yet when she finds the creature, endangered, alone and no bigger than her palm, she is compelled to give it a chance at survival.

Raising Hare chronicles their journey together and the challenges of caring for the leveret and preparing for its return to the wild. We witness an extraordinary relationship between human and animal, rekindling our sense of awe towards nature and wildlife. This improbable bond of trust serves to remind us that the most remarkable experiences, inspiring the most hope, often arise when we least expect them.

Animals Biological Sciences Outdoors & Nature Science Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking
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Critic reviews

"A great and important tale for our times" (MICHAEL MORPURGO)
"This is more than a wildlife memoir, it’s a philosophical masterpiece" (CLARE BALDING)
"This book is exceptional. A simply wonderful story, profoundly beautiful" (CHRIS PACKHAM)
"A glorious book – for its warmth, its precision, its joy. It’s not dreamy or romantic about the natural world – it’s something far better than that" (KATHERINE RUNDELL)
"Written with tenderness and lyricism from someone who has taken the time to reconnect to nature and the wild within. A beautiful book" (ANGELINA JOLIE)
"Raising Hare is an observant and enchanting meditation on nurturing a wild creature, capturing the fragile wonder that can emerge between human and animal" (QUEEN CAMILLA)
"A fascinating meditation on nature, friendship, renewal and love [ . . . ] awakening in us a sense of wonder. It helps us pay attention to the world around us, and, in doing so, rediscover ourselves" (ELIF SHAFAK)
"This book tells a story of true friendship with great respect . . . If you love animals, this book is incredibly beautiful and moving and helped me see nature differently. I think it’s the best non-fiction book of the year" (ELIZABETH GILBERT)
"This is a book of sheer joy and goodness in our times often marked by dark and troubling events. It transports you to a world of long-lost innocence and makes you want to hug the world"
"A nourishing nature memoir at its finest"
All stars
Most relevant
This is one of the most beautiful books I have listened to, it's interesting, tender, moving and extremely inspiring. I found the authors relationship with the hare intelligent and brave and there is so much we can take away from this that is absolutely relevant to relationships in our own lives. I was bereft when it was over.

Beautiful, inspiring and moving

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Just so well written and surely a lesson to everyone about the way wildlife should be protected. Modern agriculture and food production has a lot to answer for. We need more wild spaces!

Outstanding

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I found the book so powerful , to have experienced such a wonderful part of the natural world and write from the heart, I cried and didn’t want the end to come, but thank you it’s made me want to go out and explore my surroundings.

Beautiful

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Occasionally overly critical of farming practice-having been farming for over 50 years and cared for nature all that time it really hurts that some people are so critical of our care and work yet expect food to be produced at minimal cost.

The author’s respect for balance of nature.

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What an absolutely beautiful story - an account of the life of a hare from birth onwards, being looked after by a woman who learned as she went along. The descriptions of the hare’s daily life were wonderful, and the continuation of the story as she had her own babies and still trusted Chloe enough to raise them around her house and garden. I felt like I was there with them, learning new things about hares and how what we humans do affects their lives and habitats. I could go on for hours, but just read or listen to this book!

Beautiful

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