The only child of poor Irish immigrants, Alice Carey's isolated childhood in a cold-water flat in Queens is transformed when her mother becomes maid to legendary Broadway producer Jean Dalrymple. In Ms. Dalrymple's Upper East Side townhouse, young Alice absorbs with delight a sophisticated theatrical culture that includes such notables as Jed Harris and Marilyn Monroe. Then, a visit to Ireland with her mother thrusts young Alice into another novel culture, one that simultaneously enchants and traumatizes her. When Alice returns to Ireland as an adult, she and her husband serendipitously find and fall in love with a ruined Georgian farmhouse. As they begin to convert the stables into a livable cottage, Alice unearths buried memories of a childhood played out in wildly divergent homes. I'll Know It When I See It is the witty and rueful examination of her struggles to make sense of—and peace with—her recollections of a bittersweet past. It is a book bound to appeal to a wide range of readers: Irish, New Yorkers, theater folk, and all those longing to buy a house in the old country.

"When Alice Carey is your guide the journey is magic." –Frank McCourt, author of Angela’s Ashes and ‘Tis

"A tour de force. A powerful, earthy, affectionate story whose disparate sections are knit together by Carey’s skillful characterizations, authentic dialogue, and witty observations." –Kirkus Reviews

"Alice Carey’s memoirs are a deeply satisfying delight. Her view of the Broadway theater and some of its most fabled denizens is a fresh and wonderfully intimate one. I’ll Know It When I See It reads like an American Dickens." –Terence McNally, playwright, The Full Monty, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Master Class