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An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-year-old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting With Destiny
Unavailable
An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-year-old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting With Destiny
Unavailable
An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-year-old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting With Destiny
Audiobook7 hours

An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-year-old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting With Destiny

Written by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski

Narrated by Pam Ward

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

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 of their lives had changed dramatically. Nearly thirty years later, that young boy Maurice has gotten married and has his own children. 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.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherTantor Audio
Release dateDec 26, 2011
ISBN9781452675879
Author

Laura Schroff

Laura Schroff is a former advertising sales executive who worked for over thirty years with several major media companies and publications, including Time Inc. and People. Her book, An Invisible Thread, became an instant New York Times bestselling book and later was a #1 New York Times and international bestseller. As a keynote speaker at over 300 events for schools, charity organizations, libraries, and bookstores, Laura encourages her audience to look for their own invisible thread connections and highlights the importance of opening up their eyes and hearts to the opportunities where they can make a difference in the lives of others. She lives in Westchester, New York, with her feisty poodle, Emma.

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Reviews for An Invisible Thread

Rating: 3.8340336184873953 out of 5 stars
4/5

238 ratings32 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Story of how Laura became a friend and mentor to a panhandler she passed on a New York street one day and their lives through the years.As a "Big Sister" to a (now) middle school boy, I enjoyed the story (but both lives are far different than either of ours!). I was surprised how she really didn't put her foot down at all with her fiance with regard to her friend or that she went for periods of time with out seeing him. I was glad to know she did make such a difference in his life.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A very inspiring and sweet story.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Junior League Author's Luncheon--Good non-fiction read. NYC unlikely friendship between woman executive and street-urchin
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The story of Laura and an 11 year old boy, Maurice, she met on the streets of NYC while he was panhandling.She takes him for lunch one day, then every Monday, then forms a relationship with him that change both their lives.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    This book really disappointed me. It was way too much about the author's family and not enough about her relationship with Maurice. Also...SPOILER..I was so angry when her husband would not allow Maurice into their home and she so readily went along. He was good enough to take to McDonalds but not good enough to bring into her home. Even after her own family accepted Maurice with open arms, she accepted this behavior from her own husband! Infuriating. I know their relationship helped Maurice, but the author talking about her childhood ad nauseam got to me. While alcohol and domestic violence are horrible, it paled in comparison to the horror that Maurice lived through. I found that the letter from Maurice that closed the book the best part of the book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    As an educator I found this story inspiring and heartwarming as well as heartbreaking at times. Laura's relationship with Maurice is so unique and powerful. It really makes you think about the influence you can have on other people and how you can help steer kids in the right direction.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Laura Schroff recounts the story of the relationship with an 11 year old panhandler that changed her life. When she first walked by Maurice and he said he was hungry and asked for spare change, her first inclination was to walk on by. But thinking about how he said he was hungry made her turn back and invite him to a nearby McDonalds. After sharing a meal she couldn't get him off of her mind and sought him out again and soon their lunch dates became a regular weekly occurrence. Laura shares how she gradually learned more about Maurice's troubled life and barely functioning family environment, and how he also learned about her and her family and friends. Despite some bumps along they way, they have managed to stay in touch even to this day.A touching tale, if somewhat simply told. Those looking for inspiration from a true life story will find plenty of it here.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Inspiring in its truth and its impact. Bravo for doing it; bravo for telling it. Now I'm off to perform some random act of kindness because, after reading this, what else can I do?
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Good story about rich white woman and poor black kid coming together. Also shows honesty on part of Laurie when falling in love interferes with her devotion to Maurice. It's about being human, or more human than most of us are.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    No review because I read it for the 2013 Just For Fun Reading Challenge
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Pretty good book. Good narrator for audiobook. Nothing stellar, just a story about a woman from a highly dysfunctional family trying to help an inner city kid survive. The proselytizing was a bit over the top... my how this woman thinks a g-d is watching over every little thing... but the story itself is interesting and watching this kid grow up with some structure is nice. It's the ol' white person makes good story, but it is still nice how it turned out. Easy read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    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.Stopping was never part of the plan...She was a successful ad sales rep in Manhattan. He was a homeless, eleven-year-old panhandler on the street. He asked for spare change; she kept walking. But then something stopped her in her tracks, and she went back. And she continued to go back, again and again. They met up nearly every week for years and built an unexpected, life-changing friendship that has today spanned almost three decades.Whatever made me notice him on that street corner so many years ago is clearly something that cannot be extinguished, no matter how relentless the forces aligned against it. Some may call it spirit. Some may call it heart. It drew me to him, as if we were bound by some invisible, unbreakable thread. And whatever it is, it binds us still.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Loved it! Amazing story,you feel like Laura is talking to you as a friend and it is such a moving story of love, loss, life and 2 people destined to be friends. I highly recommend it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    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 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
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Sometimes a little love and attention is just what you need.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    One of the best books. Keep reading all the we way to the end.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    For fans of books like The Glass Castle this is a tender story of friendship and triumph despite our circumstances.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It was a very moving story and read very well.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Something so non - credible about this entire book. Plus poorly structured (re. chronology).. Aggrevations galore.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Story of how Laura became a friend and mentor to a panhandler she passed on a New York street one day and their lives through the years.As a "Big Sister" to a (now) middle school boy, I enjoyed the story (but both lives are far different than either of ours!). I was surprised how she really didn't put her foot down at all with her fiance with regard to her friend or that she went for periods of time with out seeing him. I was glad to know she did make such a difference in his life.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    In a world where we all stay in our comfort zone, this woman and this boy stepped out if theirs to befriend each other. For everyone who has ever passed a homeless person without giving it a second thought, this is a must read. It is a book of hope about how our choices and actions really can change the world, at least for one person.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wonderfully uplifting true story.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Although Maurice’s circumstances are heartbreaking, I took comfort in the fact that he always felt loved by his family and especially by his Grandma and mom. I would be careful who I gave this book to because I know that super sensitive students would be haunted by the idea of a child going days without food. I think it’s an important story to share however and one that needs to be available.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This tale of an unexpected friendship unfolds like an intimate journal, revealing the deep and conflicting thoughts and feelings of a single white career woman named Laura Schroff in New York City who forms a friendship with a panhandling young boy named Maurice.
    Though the boy is desperately lonely and emotionally outcast from society, the reader discovers that Maurice and Laura have more in common than appearances show. This story stays with the reader because of its underlying, subtle but profound message about an invisible thread.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-Year Old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting with Destiny by Laura Schroff

    ★★★★★ ♥

    In 1986, Laura Schroff was a successful sales executive for USA Today in New York, a single woman doing her own thing. One fateful day she would do something that would change two lives, hers and a boy named Maurice, for a lifetime. She would walk past the young boy who was panhandling, only to stop, turn around and go back to him. And that’s where this very heart-warming story begins.

    Right from the beginning I was hooked on this true life story. The author delves into her life growing up, which I could relate to so very much. And she goes into detail about the life of the boy Maurice and his sad excuse of a childhood. And of course she talks about their friendship together, their connection, and a bond that has lasted for several decades now. Maurice’s story broke my heart and yet he was such a sweet kid that I just wanted to scoop him up and hug him for all of his kindness. Equally, Laura made such a difference in this boy’s life for no other purpose than to do what she could for him. It is truly a sweet, heart-warming story from beginning to end. I stayed up late into the night reading this one because I just couldn’t put it down. I just needed to find out what would happen to the two amazing people, Laura and Maurce, featured in this memoir. This story was interesting because it showed a perspective I would have never thought of in a child, because they both taught each other so much, and because no matter what happened in the past – amazing things can happen in the future. Such a beautiful book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    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 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
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Poorly written. Story about author, Laura Schroff, ad executive for USA Today. She is asked for change by a young boy, whose name is Maurice. She keeps walking. She turns back and takes him to McDonalds instead. They develop a friendship and she changes his life for the better.Easy to read, but too much about the author and not enough about the young man.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    “An Invisible Thread” by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski is a true story of a successful ad sales rep, Laura Schroff, and a homeless 11 year old panhandler, Maurice, who by chance for an unlikely friendship in the heart of Manhattan.11 year old Maurice was asking for money because he was hungry. Laura Schroff walked right on by without noticing him. Then, for no reason, she stops, turns around and offers to take Maurice to McDonalds for some food. Thus began what would become a weekly tradition between Maurice and Laura.Reading about Maurice was heartbreaking. It is hard to imagine that a child would have to live like he did with a drug addicted parents and extended family, never knowing where he was going to sleep or when he was going to eat. Maurice has grown up learning never to trust anyone. Until he meets Laura and takes a chance. Laura is brutally honest about herself and Maurice in this book. She grew up in a household with an alcoholic father. She became a successful ad sales rep despite not having gone to college. Although she was successful, she was missing something in her life. Turns out, it was Maurice that she was missing.This is a feel good story about a chance encounter, learning to trust, and opening your heart. Laura and Maurice are incredible people who changed each other’s lives for the better.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    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, 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.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    One day Laura Schroff, a busy ad exec, was walking down a street and barely registered a small boy ask her "Excuse me, lady, do you have any spare change?" But for some reason, a reason she couldn't name then or now, she turned around half way across the street, nearly getting hit by the impatient Manhattan drivers, went back to the boy and offered to take him to lunch at McDonalds. In that moment a friendship was born that changed both of their lives forever. They began an unlikely friendship that has lasted 25 years and is still going strong. This is an amazing story of love and hope and how it can change lives, not just for two people, but potentially for an entire generation. This is a rags to riches story of the soul and the heart, and I think everyone should read it--it could help you see the world very, very differently.