RAISING HARE

“Perhaps we can see all nature in a hare: its simplicity and intricacy, fragility and glory, transience and beauty.”
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I will treasure the experience of reading this completely enchanting, very special book! While staying at her house in the English countryside, the author encountered a leveret, or newborn hare, in harm’s way. After some soul searching, she brought the hare to her home, where she nurtured it to adulthood. Believe me when I tell you that, with this simple premise, this book is a balm for the soul that will open your heart in unexpected ways. It will leave you feeling a bit changed for the better.
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The magic of Raising Hare is in part its lovely, quietly beautiful writing, and the way the author instills her own patience with her unlikely companion into the reader. With keen observations and gentle pacing, we become participants in tiny triumphs - both size and scale - and feel her same sense of wonder, tenderness, and awe. The author endeavors to create a respectful, non confining coexistence with the creature, but she doesn’t anthropomorphize, domesticate or even name the hare, nor does she overly sentimentalize it. It is a deeply moving testament to this sweet, fleeting experience that feels like a little miracle. I absolutely loved this book and recommend it with all my heart.
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The author’s description of the hare eating a raspberry, “bead by bead,” picking up the “thimble-shaped cone in a serious, almost ponderous manner” was so charming it almost sounded like something from a vintage children’s book. These rustic raspberry skillet cakes seemed a fitting way to highlight the raspberries, which will always make me think of the hare and all the wondrous details I learned about her.