An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-Year-Old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting with Destiny

Now thirteen years from publication date, this recounting of an amazing friendship is perhaps even more relevant now than it was years ago. Laura Schroff, a woman with a childhood usurped by a violent, alcoholic father, passes a young Black boy panhandling in midtown Manhattan and then, in a complex twist of fate, turns around and takes him to a McDonald's for a meal. They feel an instant unexplainable bond and continue meeting up weekly. Maurice is living in a dangerous welfare hotel, surrounded by the addicts in his family in what passes for a home. He and Laura become fast friends, and each improves the other's life immeasurably. Laura tells their stories brilliantly, having the reader feel the consequence of every one of their show more interactions. Her painful childhood makes her a complete empath, even though she and Maurice survived different impossible circumstances. Laura's inclusion of Maurice in her vastly improved family life, and their joyous dinners around a large dining room table, and his own intelligence and resourcefulness, save them both. The audio book reader, Pam Ward, is excellent. show less

AN INVISIBLE THREAD
By Laura Schroff, Alex Treniowski

a deeply authentic AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING story

SUMMARY
Laura Schroff was a busy sales executive walking down the streets of Manhattan. Maurice was a scruffy, 11-year-old panhandler on the street. “Excuse me lady do you have any spare change?” were the first words he said to her. She kept walking, but then after a few yards she stopped. Something drew her back. She took the young boy to lunch at a nearby fast food restaurant. They made arrangements to meet again the next week, and the next…Their life-changing friendship, has now lasted three decades, almost as if they were bound by some invisible thread.

“An invisible thread connects those that are destined to meet, regardless of show more time, place and circumstance. The thread may stretch and tangle. But it will never break.” —Ancient Chinese Proverb

REVIEW
An Invisible Thread is a thought-provoking true story that explores a connection between two people of diverse ages and backgrounds. How many times have you passed a panhandler on the street and averted your eyes? Have you ever stopped and talked, seen them as a person and asked what they needed? Laura Schroff did. She stopped, bought Maurice lunch and showed interest in him. She showed a little kindness to a young boy and it evolved into something special, something enduring. It became a raw and emotional learning experience for both she and Maurice.

While not a literary masterpiece, an Invisible Thread’s beauty is that it is a deeply authentic story. You cannot help but feel for Maurice, coming of age on the streets of New York with food and housing insecurity. I appreciated Laura’s brutal honesty in writing their story and her willingness to look into a young boy’s eyes and see a person in need. While they certainly experienced some tangles in their thread, their thread has not broken, they are still friends after thirty years. Written from the heart, this book will help others see the humanity that surrounds us daily and be open to their own invisible thread.

This is a fabulous book for books club discussion, since it contains issues of social responsibility and moral dilemma. My book club reached out to the author, who was gracious enough to join our bookclub meeting via Zoom. (It helped that there was a snowstorm that week and she was grounded from a book tour!) Getting updates on Maurice. his thoughts on the book, and things that have happened beyond what the book covered was delightful.

“If you make me lunch," he said, "will you put it in a brown paper bag?...Because when I see kids come to school with their lunch in a paper bag, that means that someone cares about them. Miss Laura, can I please have my lunch in a paper bag?”

Publisher Simon and Schuster Audio
Published May 28, 2019
Narrated Pam Ward
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com show less

This is a quick read -- for a memoir it flows smoothly and doesn't get bogged down in detail that is only meaningful to the teller. Laura Schroff recounts how she met and mentored Maurice Mazyck and ultimately saved him from the streets of NYC. As an 11-yr old panhandler, Maurice was well on his way to tough times when he literally crossed Laura's path -- and kudos to her, she stopped and paid attention and acted on the impulse to take him out for a meal rather than just hand over money. This was the beginning of a meaningful lifelong friendship that has come to fruition in the happiness and success Maurice has had in raising his own family. While the homelife Maurice was raised in was tragic, full of drugs and prison and adults who had show more no use for children, Schroff doesn't belabor this too much -- some of it she didn't even know until after the fact. It is hard to know if the dividing line for Maurice rising above is due to her influence or to his own resilience. It is probably a combination of both, though he seems to give her much of the credit and to her credit, she is quite humble about it. It is hopeful to watch the trajectory of Maurice's overcoming the odds, and also to witness the determination and risk Schroff took in pursuing the friendship. "We all want relationships that are healthy and resolved, and sometimes that simply doesn't happen. But the beauty of life is that inside these disappointments are hidden the most miraculous of blessings. What we lose and what might have been pales against what we have." (184) Schroff's own background with an alcoholic, abusive father helped the two find common ground, or at least increased her empathy quotient. She says "For many of these doomed people in Maurice's life, there was simply no escape from the heavy, burdensome weight of the past. That burden is something I am sure many, many people understand, and it is something I understand pretty well too. I know that struggling against the vicious undertow of inherited sadness -- the ever-present pull of family history -- can be a lifelong battle that is never won, only endured. (207) Urban poverty and race is such a multi-faceted problem that it seems defeatist to even begin to untangle it. But Schroff had the guts to jump in and make a difference for one and that has made a difference for many. Inspiring. show less

Maurice had never met anyone like Laura and Laura had never met anyone like Maurice. They were from two different worlds. Laura doesn't know why she stopped and turned back after Maurice asked her for some money, but she is glad she did.

Through Maurice, Laura learned about the life he and thousands of others were living on a daily basis....not a pleasant life at all. Laura was helping Maurice to live a better life at least one day a week, and it seemed to be paying off since she could see a change in him even though he had to go back to his horrible living conditions after he left her.

As well as learning about the living conditions of others, the author also gave the reader a chance to find out that her childhood/family life was not show more very easy.....her father was an abusive alcoholic, and her mother sat by not being able to defend herself or her children. Obviously the author's childhood and the childhood of her brothers and sisters had an impact on their entire life and on her decision to turn back and fulfill Maurice’s plea for help.

The descriptions in the book are very detailed and heartbreaking but also heartwarming. You will become a part of the lives of every character and you will feel their pain and happiness.

An Invisible Thread is the perfect title for this book. The book brought to the surface that we all have a connection to other human beings even though that connection may not be outwardly visible.

I truly enjoyed the book because of the honesty of feelings and of human kindness and human connection. This is a must read. Laura Schroff is a brave woman to reveal all this, but it definitely will make you realize that no matter how small the gesture may be, we can make a difference for someone else. 5/5 show less

I have never read a book that had me crying after the first few pages and then smiling after the last page was read. Just as the title says it's about a busy executive and a small boy out on the streets begging for money. She walks by him as if he doesn't exist but then for some unknown reason goes back and there starts this beautiful relationship between the two. I read this book in not even a day because I simply could not put it down. The bond and the love just jumps off the pages. I am so thankful that I was able to experience this book. And thank you Laura and Maurice for sharing your story.

I began this book expecting a conceited tale of Laura Schroff "giving back," or admonishment of the reader for civic ills or even a promulgation that racial oppression still exist. Instead, I found this book to be written so that it was engaging from the first page to the epilogue without any dressing down or politicking. Ms. Schroff alternates between her story of befriending a pre-teen panhandler and her broken home of a stereotypical Catholic family. Ms. Schroff never attempted to equate or draw the slightest parallel between Maurice, who grew up in a series of drug dens operated by his mother, and her home wracked by alcoholism.

Being a cynic, I found myself waiting for the altruistic braggadocio for the first two or three chapters, show more yet the way she shares their narratives (his and hers), I don't believe she is publishing a written account of her life with Maurice for any other reason than inspiration. I would also estimate she is proud of Maurice, like a mother, of his accomplishments.

This book reads rather quickly and was difficult to put down. Not written in a grandiloquent fashion, An Invisible Thread, is easy to understand and would be suitable for a young adult. With Ms. Schroff's honest and undecorated view of abject poverty from an "outsider's" point-of-view, free of blame, the book exemplifies kindness from a heartfelt level where nothing is sought in return. True charity. show less

An Invisible Thread tells of the life-long friendship between a busy sales executive and a disadvantaged young boy, and how both of their lives were changed by what began as one small gesture of kindness. The one gesture being the stopping and giving of food to the young boy named Maurice. The person giving him the affection he desperately needed is a lady named Laura. Laura is a big PR person in New York City and brushes by panhandlers all day long but something made her stop for this young man. Maybe it was because he was eleven years old or maybe it was because she was in a good mood. It doesn't matter though; all that matters is that she stopped for Maurice and unknowingly gave him a myriad of possibilities for his life. The rest of show more the book describes the dates and events the two went through together. They events ranged from going to the projects to spending Christmas with Laura's sister. The most magnificent part of the story is that the two are still friends today; they are in a symbiotic relationship and have provided each other with a life of happiness and possibility.
I think this is a great life story let alone a book. The story teaches us that one simple act of kindness can make the world difference to the receiver and in return you get the knowledge that you helped someone in need. The book itself is made beautifully; it draws on multiple emotions and really makes the reader feel what Laura and Maurice feel. Also the knowledge that this is a true story makes it that much better. It's nice to know that someone has the courage and kindness to do that which most people avoid. The book is a pretty short read; so if you need a piece that you can read during lunch breaks, this is the one. I read this book as an extra credit assignment in one of my English classes; by the time I read the first chapter, it turned into a personal affection with the book. It was a vendetta for me to finish it and fully understand what these two people went through. I think that this is a great book for students because it teaches morals that are hard to come by. Also it is a good book for others because it is enjoyable and meaningful. show less