​Marc Nemiroff

Author of

STEPPING INTO THE RIVER:

AN AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST IN MOTHER INDIA

• "The reader is left with a great sense of hope and healing that is deeply humanistic… Reading this book is a life-changing experience and enlarges the reader to look at their own lives through a different lens. A must-read!!"
  

• "Step into the River through this astounding book. It is almost impossible to describe the heartbreak to which Dr. Nemiroff bears witness, the grace and humility with which he comes to honor differences and cultural contexts, the resolve and finally love with which he continues to show up, and almost impossible to describe the deep healing effect of his work on those he tends to and vice versa… A fascinating and beautifully written and crafted book that will not be forgotten once read."
  

• "Stepping Into the River disturbs our senses. Sensuous descriptions of touch, smell, sound, taste and color irrevocably broaden the palette of what we all too easily see as monochromatic snapshots of ‘others’ lives; especially ‘others’ who eek out survival from the scraps of 21st century ambition and waste."
  

• "Reminiscent of Jules Henry’s Pathways to Madness, Oscar Lewis’ La Vida, and Ann Fadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Stepping Into the River is the kind of book one will remember…it should be a must read for whoever seeks ways to create small, but profound effects, changes in a world where personal relationships the key, are often obfuscated by what is lacking rather than what , in fact, is already present."
  

• "A beautiful story of love… This is a story of how genuine respect and compassion between human beings creates moments of beauty, connection and forgiveness which may bring healing, forgiveness or (at moments) redemption to the sometimes nearly unbearable suffering human beings face over the course of a life."
  

• "Written in a heartfelt manner, [Stepping into the River] is not at all sentimental or false… This is a model for all clinicians. It is not a theoretical book; Nemiroff is not teaching us how to engage others. Rather it shows us by example the best of what it means to connect with other people. What a blessing this book will be to anyone who reads it. It was such a blessing to me!"
  

• "As I got into this book I found it more and more difficult to put it down. One of the morals seems to be that India has the stuff of which forgiveness is made, even for those as bad as the author's mother. The process by which Nemiroff gets to that place of forgiveness is fascinating, moving. The most amazing revelation is the way in which Indians who live lives of unspeakable poverty manage to get through their daily grind without bitterness and anger destroying their humanity. The author manages to weave a compelling story while he plays out some profound moral questions which we all should deal with. Our wealth here in the West should, after reading this book, at least be problematic for us, if it wasn't already."
  

• "A beautifully and poignant look at India from the ground up."
  

• "There are some moments in time when your heart is deeply touched. Marc Nemiroff's book was one of those moments. This was a book that I did not want to put down. Dr. Nemiroff’s first book is a book well worth reading, and one to savor the sights and sounds of an India that most people will never experience. His writing style grabs the reader and says read me and enjoy me."
  

• "What Dr. Nemiroff has given the reader is a tunnel into the real Indian life of the masses, the frustrating and bleak living conditions, the backwardness of the schools, the seemingly hopeless stagnant desperate way of life the people have to endure. Yet, there is beauty and joy in almost everything and everyone he encounters. I could not put this book down. One is an observer and a participant at the same time. I loved it."
  

• "...Nemiroff also teaches us about the importance of understanding cultural differences. As a human being I was left feeling I should become a social activist. As a psychotherapist I became more sensitive to the importance of paying attention to cultural differences."
  

• "Don’t simply read, Stepping Into the River. Dive into the book. Swim to the bottom. I think you’ll find the air even fresher and sweeter when you emerge."
  

• "This book brought tears to my eyes. And the tears continued to flow and flow as I read on. Words cannot do justice to the feeling. Very moving. Brilliantly written. This is a must read for those of us who are in the process of discovering who and what we really are."
  

• "Marc Nemiroff has given his readers a gift to be lived through, cherished and remembered for years to come."
  

• "With just the right mix of personal revelation and respect for his readers’ ability to read between the lines, Nemiroff suggests that while altruism and social justice lie at the heart of the matter, responsible stock taking of one’s own vulnerabilities and disappointments greatly enhances what can be achieved in our consulting rooms, and in dark corners of very foreign places as well.  Stepping Into the River disturbs our senses. Sensuous descriptions of touch, smell, sound, taste and color irrevocably broaden the palette of what we all too easily see as monochromatic snapshots of ‘others’ lives; especially ‘others’ who eek out survival from the scraps of 21st century ambition and waste."
  

• "[Marc Nemiroff] captures their compelling stories of healing from trauma. The reader is left with a great sense of hope and healing that is deeply humanistic that transcends both cultural and interpersonal barriers…Reading this book is a life-changing experience and enlarges the reader to look at their own lives through a different lens".
  

• "The characters Dr. Nemiroff sheds light on are vivid with dignity and yearning. They are full of love, whether it's requited or ignored. They are not part of the background on the way to Mumbai's airport or the Taj Mahal, and the author's love for the disenfranchised and forgotten is so powerful it becomes the reader's as well."
  

• "… the book leaves the reader feeling uplifted by the belief that people can overcome their struggles and find meaning and hope in their lives. The book is difficult to put down. I casually showed a copy of it to my husband, and found him still reading it over an hour later!"
  

• "Beautifully written, an amazing inside look at the haunting stories of the slums of India and a story of healing."
  

• "Brilliant and vastly moving: this book goes far beyond the stated subject: “An American Psychologist in Mother India”, broaching larger issues of rigid social boundaries and how to breach them, of course, poverty and its impact, love and how it’s expressed."
  

• "[Stepping into the River] conveys the resilience of these destitute people, their wisdom and even their joy at times despite their desperate circumstances."
  

About the Book: 

Home to the greatest beauty and most appalling poverty in the world. Come on a journey with American psychologist Marc Nemiroff and meet saints and sinners, the poor, Untouchables, and others who are a part of the Indian tapestry, and discover the soul of this deeply moving country. Nemiroff and his Indian colleague, Asha Dutia, spent one month each winter for 9 years working with the disenfranchised of India: abandoned elderly blind, children and their families in the Mumbai slums, street children, young adults kidnapped as children for the sex trade, parents of deepest poverty living in hospital with their very young children receiving cancer treatment, students and teachers in Bombay's slum schools, the inhabitants of a remote tribal village, etc. Nemiroff intersperses the biography of his relationship with his deeply abusive mother, as it relates to his Indian story. This book is also the story of the development of a deep cross-cultural relationship between an Indian and an American, with ever-increasing trust, warmth, and humor. Using an engagingly objective-yet-poignant, sometimes impressionistic style, Nemiroff passionately uncovers the spirit of India and its greatest strength: the women and men of poverty, poor mothers caring for their children under impossible circumstances. India's soul ultimately brings inspiring personal healing to the author in a concluding dream sequence.

What Readers are Saying: