"Bruce Fogle's sweet, beautifully-written memoir, Barefoot at the Lake, precisely catches the fleeting magic of both adolescence and Canadian summer. Reading it is like peering into a snapshot, taken long ago at a beloved cottage." —David Macfarlane, author of Summer Gone

An idyllic summer at the cottage in the 1950s, as revealed through the eyes of a boy on the cusp of adolescence: a first crush, the joy of nature, and the struggle to understand grown-ups.

To ten-year-old Bruce, the summer of 1954 seemed, at first, like any other in cottage country: floating in the rowboat, eating peach pie, watching the seagulls, frogs, and herons, and catching crayfish. But just when he thinks that life is perfect, everything starts to change, and over the summer both the harshness of the adult world and the patterns of the natural world reveal themselves. By the time the weather turns he will be a different child and will have chosen his own path to understanding the wilderness that waits behind the family cottage.

Bruce Fogle is a veterinarian and a best-selling author whose books about animals have sold millions of copies worldwide. Born and raised in Ontario, he has written for publications as diverse as the Daily Telegraph and Country Life. He lives in London, U.K.

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"As contemplative and unhurried as a long and lazy summer day, Barefoot at the Lake is a delightful return to an age of innocence, seen through the eyes of a soulful young boy. Dive into its world of frogs and minnows, campfire yarns and home-baked peach pies; you won't want to pull yourself away when sundown comes." —Margaret Langrick, star of My American Cousin

"Bruce Fogle's sweet, beautifully-written memoir, Barefoot at the Lake, precisely catches the fleeting magic of both adolescence and Canadian summer. Reading it is like peering into a snapshot, taken long ago at a beloved cottage." —David Macfarlane

"An evocative journey into a simpler time told in pellucid language. I’d love to have known the boy telling these stories. He’d have made my childhood richer." —Lorna Crozier, author of Small Beneath the Sky and The Book Marvels

"Bruce Fogle is best known as the veterinarian author of numerous guides to cat and dog care... Barefoot at the Lake is a book full of quiet wisdom and also an inspiring account of how an adult vocation can grow from the formative experiences of childhood."— The Bookseller