“For me, it is not plot that is compelling, it is good writing, and Robert G. Schneider’s novel, The Guru’s Touch, is a beautifully crafted story. It is in many ways a page-turner, which is not to say that it is an “easy read” or that it lacks depth. Rather, it is a story in which the characters come to matter greatly to the reader, and the reader wants to know more. But characters come to matter only because of the writing with which they are created. The reader must marvel at Schneider’s writing. I found myself re-reading passages asking myself, How did he do that? The story is told in the style of a memoir, which gives almost every passage, every chapter, the quality of delicately managed irony. The narrator of this book is a solid, highly complex presence who speaks as no other writer I have ever read. This is a remarkable novel.”                                                  

 —Thomas H. Ogden, MD, author of the novels, The Parts Left Out and The Hands of Gravity and Chance, and psychoanalyst.

“No one intentionally joins a destructive cult. Robert Schneider’s novel realistically depicts how anyone under the right set of circumstances and conditions, from troubled school dropouts to successful business people and celebrities, can fall prey to undue influence. This poignant and gripping story of a young man’s spiritual seduction by a charismatic spiritual teacher, followed by his ultimate disillusionment, offers a vivid look into how cults recruit, the psychological forces that compel their members to stay, and the consequences of their participation. I am the author of 3 books about cults, am a former cult member, and a therapist who has been working with ex-members for 41 years.”