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

About the Book

"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.

When Laura Schroff brushed by a young panhandler on a New York City corner one rainy afternoon, something made her stop and turn back. She took the boy to lunch at the McDonald's across the street that day. And she continued to go back, again and again for the next four years until both their lives had changed dramatically. Nearly thirty years later, that young boy, Maurice, is married and has his own family. Now he works to change the lives of disadvantaged kids, just like the boy he used to be.

"An Invisible Thread "is the true story of the bond between a harried sales executive and an eleven-year-old boy who seemed destined for a life of poverty. It is the heartwarming story of a friendship that has spanned three decades and brought meaning to an over-scheduled professional and hope to a hungry and desperate boy living on the streets.

Review :
"If you have a beating heart--or if you fear you're suffering a hardening of the emotional arteries--you really ought to commit to this book at the earliest possible opportunity . . . read this book. And pass it on. And encourage the next reader to do the same."

--Jesse Kornbluth, "Huffington Post"

"An incredible story . . . I would encourage everyone to pick up this book."

--Clayton Morris, host, Fox & Friends

"This book is a game-changer . . . each chapter touches your heart. "An Invisible Thread" is a gift to us all. America needs this book now more than ever."

--"Coach" Ron Tunick, national radio show host, "The Business of Life"

"When advertising executive Laura Schroff was approached by 11-year-old panhandler Maurice, at first, she ignored him: 'His words were part of the clatter, like a car horn or someone yelling for a cab. They were, you could say, just noise--the kind of nuisance New Yorkers learn to tune out.' A moment later, when she came to, she returned and invited her new acquaintance to lunch at McDonald's, the beginning of a human connection that would change both their lives. "An Invisible Thread" picks up the progress of two very different people with strangely parallel stories of 'complicated pasts and fragile dreams.' Uplifting, without an ounce of pretension."

--BarnesandNoble.com

""An Invisible Thread" is like "The Blind Side", but instead of football, it's food. These are two people who were brought together by one simple meal, and it literally changed the course of both of their lives. This is a must-read . . . you can read it in a day because it's impossible to put down. If you read it and find it as moving as I did, pay it forward: buy a copy and give it to a friend."

--Rachael Ray, host of "The Rachael Ray Show"

"According to an old Chinese proverb, there's an invisible thread that connects two people who are destined to meet and influence each other's lives. . . . As Schroff relates Maurice's story, she tells of her own father's alcoholism and abuse, and readers see how desperately these two need each other in this feel-good story about the far-reaching benefits of kindness."

--"Publishers Weekly"

""An Invisible Thread"--a remarkable story, told so beautifully and honestly--shows us what's possible when we are not afraid to connect with another human being and tap into our compassion. It is a story about the power each of us has to elevate someone else's life and how our own life is enriched in the process. This special book reminds us that damaging cycles can be broken and not to neglect the humanity of the strangers we brush up against every day."

--Chris Gardner, bestselling author of "The Pursuit of Happyness" and "Start Where You Are"

"A straightforward tale of kindness and paying it forward in 1980s New York . . . For readers seeking an uplifting reminder that small gestures matter."

--Kirkus Reviews

"I thought I knew what "An Invisible Thread" was going to be. I thought it would be a simple and hopeful story about a woman who saved a boy. I was wrong. It's a complex and unswervingly honest story about a woman and a boy who saved each other. By its raw honesty and lack of excess sentimentality, it is even more inspirational. This is a book capable of restoring our faith in each other and in the very idea that maybe everything is going to be okay after all."

--Catherine Ryan Hyde, author of "Pay It Forward" and "Jumpstart the World"