The Gift of the Deer

Helen Hoover's beautifully vivid prose makes this memoir read like a fantasy piece. I felt I was sharing the precious moments that she and her husband Ade spent with the wild whitetail deer family who visited them at their log cabin deep in the Minnesota woods. Helen's richly descriptive style of writing draws you into their enchanting lifestyle, filled with peace, and the quiet mystery of virgin forests. The area around their cabin became a safe haven for a groundhog who became a regular houseguest, squirrels who nibbled graham crackers from Helen's hands, chipmunks, ermine, owls, beautiful birds of all kinds,and even a bobcat and a lynx.This is more than just a story about wild animals. It is a tribute to Peter, the magnificent whitetail buck who taught them so much about the dignity and majesty of wild things, and enriched their lives with his noble and gentle ways.This book is a treasure of a journey into some of the most peaceful, delightful, and rewarding places that a nature lover can go without leaving their home. I hated to see it end.

This is one of my favorite books. It is sensitive, but not maudlin. It uses vivid pictoral imagery to show life in the northern Minnesota woods

Hoover's gentle wisdom and caring bring the reader into the timeless world of the wild. Her insights teach us about the family life of deer and the struggles they face with prospective starvation, predators, the elements, and human ignorance. The book is as informative as it is moving and humbling.