My View from the Mountains
A Catskills Memoir
by
Patti Posner
Much has been written about the Catskill Mountains resort experience as enjoyed by untold numbers of first- and second-generation Jews who, in the early part of the 20th century, had been shut out of many other resorts because of anti-Semitism. While the hotels were indeed as wonderful as many novels and histories describe them, this book is different.
My View from the Mountains tells a sometimes piercingly honest story of the family that ran the Brickman, one of the most successful Catskills resorts. It is a tale of blood ties as strained by a sometimes ruthless business, explosive secrets, sex and drugs. But this story also is about a deep familial love, hard work, commitment and a winding path to self-knowledge. Patti Posner, daughter of one of the two brothers who ran the hotel, reveals (and thus preserves) the day-to-day life and inner workings of this now vanished world of hospitality, along with the human story behind it all.
About Patti
The author, Patti Posner
Patti Posner grew up in South Fallsburg, New York. She was the fourth and final generation of the Brickman/Posner family to own the famed Catskill resort, the Brickman Hotel.
This is Patti’s first memoir. In it she captures life as a year-round resident of her rural community and shares what it was like to grow up in a resort hotel as the boss’s daughter. By writing her memoir, Patti has preserved her family’s piece of Jewish American history and life in the Catskills.
This book tells a piercingly honest story of the family that ran the Brickman, one of the most successful Catskills resorts. It is a tale of blood ties strained by a sometimes ruthless business, of explosive secrets, sex and drugs. But this story also is about deep familial love, hard work, commitment, and a winding path to self-knowledge. Patti grew up at the hotel and worked there in increasingly responsible positions. In this memoir, she reveals the day-to-day life and inner workings of this now-vanished world of hospitality, along with the human story behind it all.
The Posners sold the hotel in 1986. Patti then moved to New Jersey where she earned a degree in sociology. She also lived in South Florida. Patti and her artist husband, Yossi Daboosh, now live in Western North Carolina.
They have fostered many dogs and adopted three of their rescues. Patti is an avid tennis player and a lover of Mah Jongg. She has one daughter who lives in Asheville, North Carolina and two stepchildren and four grandchildren who all live on Long Island.
A peak inside The Brickman Hotel
Praise for
My View From The Mountains
My View From The Mountains, A Catskills Memoir is an important and different kind of Catskills retrospective. Brickman guests and staff know the wonders of this hotel from glorious days, weeks, months and years (in season) at the resort. Readers have relived the resorts through several books covering the entertainment, activities and FOOD. Movie and TV viewers have seen glimpses of Catskills resort life through the likes of “Dirty Dancing” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. But Patti Posner Daboosh’s memoir, “A View From the Mountains” is different. It goes deep into the psyche of the hotel. It goes “backstage” and “behind the scenes” into family, life, love, hard work and determination to paint a picture of the Brickman/Posner family’s success in building one of the most successful hotels in “The Mountains.”
—Shelly Strickler and Larry Strickler
Ben and Murray Posner
"The Boys”
1968
I read this book in a day - you know how it goes - just one more chapter…
When you read a book, you create a picture of the setting as the author describes it. But this time I KNEW every place that Patti spoke about (although I wish I had seen the kitchen!) and a good number of the people. But reading, I realized that the Brickman guests saw a well-run hotel, but not what went on behind the scenes to make it that way.
I felt that I was having a conversation with Patti as I read each page.
This is not just a story of the Catskills, it is a story of OUR Catskills! Anyone who worked at or was a guest at Hotel Brickman will definitely enjoy her book! Thank you, Patti!!
—Sue Sandler Feldman
Loved, loved the book, finished reading in two days, I wanted it to go on and on.
—Mary Hidalgo
Ben Posner and Patti Posner
1993
Wonderful book! I am so proud of you. A wonderful view into life at a Catskill hotel—perhaps the best one I have encountered.
It also took courage to write about the troubling parts of your life and those of your family.
The writing and flow of the book were excellent too. You do have a knack for writing.
The personal recollections at the end were great too.
The book arrived about yesterday 11am just before I came back from the few errands I had to do before the heat really took hold. I then spent most of the day and evening reading it.
—Jessica Schein
I’ve started reading this book and I love it! Cannot wait to curl up with it every night before I go to sleep; I’m drawing it out so I don’t finish it too quickly as I don’t want it to be over. My father’s aunt and uncle ran a boarding house in the Catskills before I was born; now I know why. This book and the life/lives it describes are so interesting! It’s well-written, reads like historical fiction and the family tree and photos really enhance the understanding and enjoyment. A little gem of a special and distinct period in 20th-century New York history.
Sandy Angel
The Brickman Family in Russia
1900
Standing: Anna Brickman, Jeihl Brickman
Seated: Molly Brickman, Benjamin Brickman,
Abraham Brickman
Reading your book on my Kindle.
I have to force myself to put it down.
I love it. I see it as a movie.
—Sonia Ward
Jo Anna Dane and Patti Posner
1979
This is a great read! Although I was never a guest at the Brickman, I raised my family in the Catskills. Reading this book, I felt as though I was there with Patti.…meeting her ancestors, hearing their history, and living behind the scenes at the Brickman. It was funny, sad, and touching; altogether a wonderful memoir…Well done!
—Deborah Cavanagh
Extraordinary!
Patti pries open an enchanting window into the real Borscht Belt, and leaves you with a heartrending and heartwarming personal story as well. You will feel like both a guest in the hotel and a member of the hotel family. That was the secret sauce of the Catskills. Now you will hear more of the secrets only the insiders knew.
"Dirty Dancing" was fiction based on many true experiences; this is nonfiction that reads with all the ease and interest of a great screenplay. Those of us who grew up in the Catskill resorts know the landscape and the stories are all true and deeply moving. Oh, and yes the food was delicious too.
Whether you knew the Catskills or just wish you did, here's your chance to get to know it from the inside.
This is so well written, you won't put it down. Read it through to the end.
Bart Charlow
Read an Excerpt from My View of the Mountains
Ben and Rachel Posner at their wedding
1937
Anna Brickman Posner
1974
The Brickman/Posner Family at the Wedding of Ben and Rachel Posner
1937
Back Row, L to R: David Brickman, Rose Brickman, Jesse Brickman, Marjorie Brickman, Ben Brickman
Harry Rosen, Kate Rosen, Joseph Brickman, Murray Posner center Row, L to R: Bryna Brickman, Anna Posner, Ben and Rae Posner, Joseph Posner, Anna Brickman
Bottom row: Renee Rosen, Allen Brickman, Bebe Posner