I'll Know It When I See It: A Daughter's Search for Home in Ireland

A friend, whom I accompanied on my first trip to Ireland last May, lent me Alice Carey's memoir "I'll Know It When I See It," knowing how enamored I have become of things Irish. Alice Carey, as a clever and witty story teller, has a natural knack for sizing up situtations and characterizing people that seems to be an Irish trait. Having lived for a while in NYC, I was amused by her reflections on the city, its rapid neighborhood changes, and at the same time dismayed at the stringent life she endured in Queens as a youngster, made especially difficult by a father whose abusive anger was probably rooted in the frustration of economic and social deprivation in a city where extreme wealth so clearly co-exists with poverty. Alice's salvation resides in her mother, "mammie," whom she adored and who adored her. By the author's literary skill, mammie comes alive and endearing. One example is the episode where she and her mother attended the Broadway opening of "Peter Pan" starring Mary Martin, -a tale told with vivid detail. In her account of her ambivalent search for her roots in Ireland, I very much appreciated the account of her and her husband's finding and rehabilitating the Protestant mansion and rescuing the Catholic cottage from the cows near Bantry where they settled before tackling the manor house. That tale of renovation and acclimation would be a fitting sequel. Perhaps Alice Carey will treat us to that tale. A delicious read that ended all too soon.

What a wonderful, funny, enlightening book. Please Alice Carey - write me another one. My Irish mother would also like to read the next... Bravo!

I found this book most enjoyable. It almost could of been2 seperate books. Life on Broadway and Life on the Emerald Isle.I would love Ms. Carey expand on both in future books....A great read!!

Listening to Alice Carey describe those moments on the deck of the RMS Mauretania as she and her Mammie approach Ireland reminds us of the overwhelming power of words to paint pictures in our mind?s eye. Whether it is a description of the cats on the mantel at Miss D?s, the butcher in Astoria or the sheep on the way to Skellig Michael?you can picture with ease all that Ms. Carey describes. And if that were not enough, you can also hear the words. The dialogue on every page lends itself to be read aloud. And part of the joy of this book is ?hearing? Ms. Carey as you read about each event and leg of her journey. We all remember the events of our past with varying degrees of honesty and clarity. Ms. Carey takes a critical look at the milestones of her life?through the eyes of someone who has made the journey home with awe and affection. For everyone who loves words, stories and laughter?this is a must read!

I found this book powerful and poetic. I couldn't put it down. The mix of past and present allowed me to feel more deeply what the author and her family and friends were going through...because I often knew where they were headed, it made the tragedy and joy all the more profound. We all search for home in our own ways, and while I'll never find and restore a home in Ireland, the author has given me a whole new sense of what it means for all of us. I didn't want to finish the book because I kept wanting to hear more of this author's wonderful voice.