Sometimes the spur-of-the-moment choices we make change our lives forever. This is the story of just such a choice. Laura was a busy sales exec who walked right by a eleven year old panhandler on a New York City street one day and then, inexplicably, she turned back, bought Maurice some lunch at McDonald's and changed her life - and his. The situation Maurice was born into pretty much assured him a life of drugs, crime and the strong possibility of an early death. Laura had an active, exciting l More...

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 t More...

I just finished this wonderful book, that I won through Goodreads First Reads giveaway. It's a very inspirational story, that left me in tears many times. I loved the relationship that grew with Laura and Maurice. As a native New Yorker, I know how easy it is to just ignore most of the panhandlers that wander the streets of the city. Reading this touching memoir opened my eyes, that it's just not adults out there but kids also. Her story telling flowed with ease, and never not once did I feel I More...

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 th More...

I'm just going to preface this by writing: read In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving instead. I just felt like the Tuohy's story was much more captivating with the fact that they completely took Michael Oher in...they clothed him, fed him, made sure he attended school and got good grades. Now, I'm not trying to diminish the good that Laura Schroff did because what she did for Maurice was pretty amazing as well. I guess I just can't get over the fact that she allowed her husband t More...

It bothers me that Laura Schroff and a co author with nothing to do with this story wrote the book and not Maurice and Laura writing it together. I didn't care much for Laura's backstory particularly how she writes throughout the book how much her troubles made her relate to Maurice, but then admits in the end that her troubles were really nothing on the scale of what Maurice went thru. In fact, I didn't think they were anything alike at all which is why I think Laura's backstory is just filler More...

I laughed and I cried and I read it in one day.

I often read the reviews after I finish a book just to compare my opinion with others. This time, it was very interesting. Many people complained about self-centered and naive Laura was. But, I loved that part of the book. Someone less naive would never have taken a homeless, dirty, black kid to lunch on a whim. Yes, she made some mistakes and bad choices. But, this was the story of her life and she was brutally honest about it.

I am more likely to More...

An act of kindness can change lives forever...Laura, a busy, successful ad sales rep, walks past a young pan-handling boy on the streets in Manhattan. She then did something uncharacteristic of herself, she stopped, turned around and went back to him. She offered to take him to MCDonalds to get a meal. They ended up meeting every Monday for years, developing a relationship that forever changed both of their lives. The book weaves together the story of Maurice, raised in dire poverty by drug addi More...

Interesting read. I was expecting it to be mostly about this unlikely friendship between a young homeless black kid from the projects and this rich, white ad exec in NYC. Instead it delved a lot into Laurie's life and how her abusive father helped shape who she became. I left reading this still wanting more... More understanding of why she'd marry a controlling husband who forbid her from the greatest joy in her life...more details about Maurice and where he's at today.

I'm glad Ms Schroff told More...

Can ONE PERSON make a difference in another person's life? Laura Schroff lives just two blocks away from Maurice Maczyk in downtown Manhattan in a brand-new penthouse apartment. Maurice lives in a one-room apartment(yes, one room)in the projects with eleven other people who come and go (when his mother isn't in jail and they still have a roof over their head).

Laura is a highly successful executive at USA Today. Maurice is an eleven-year-old boy begging on the streets. Two people, and two differ More...

A rich white woman befriends a homeless sweet black boy. As he passes her on the sidewalk, an "Invisible Thread" seems to have pulled her back to him and she takes him to lunch. I thought the book was going to be more about their friendship and less about her life. I found their friendship very interesting. Parts of it I really loved. Especially how protective Maurice, the child, was of her and loved her so openly. I was disappointed in the way she let Maurice down on many occasions.

Near the end More...

11/2012 The subtitle of the book “The True Story of an 11-Year-Old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting with Destiny” hints at the story. The book describes the episode when a young boy of color asks a rich white woman if she has any change. She walks by, then stops, returns to the boy and takes him out for dinner. The story follows their relationship for the next twenty (or so) years. The story provides a glimpse into generational poverty that has its roots in drug use. T More...

I love true stories where love, hard work, sacrifice and kindness change the lives for the better, even though the circumstances seem so staggering to overcome.
I enjoyed this memoir of a rich, white lady, Laura, who befriends young homeless black boy, Maurice, in NYC, when in reality the young boy helps the lady unknowingly.
She comes from a very troubled past which basically only her family understands and knows about. Dealing with an abusive alcoholic parent is terrifying and the stories she More...

The story itself is really a 3 star story...it is heart warming and commendable and I admire and respect Laura for bringing joy and hope into Maurice's life. And while others may criticize how she could simply bring this child into her home, I suppose sometimes people make decisions without knowing why they are making them. But while it becomes clear later in that the system would not have helped this boy, Laura seems to have had NO knowledge of what was happening deep within this family. Would More...

when i finished reading this book i was all set to get on goodreads and bash it. then i thought about it. while i understand that delving into her past brought the reader on the journey and why she did the things she did, when i picked up the book i was expecting to learn all about the unlikely friendship. most of the book was spent in the way past, her past, her fathers abuse, that sorta thing. to me, her life, while dramatic and rough with the abuse, she lived a privledged life compaired to ma More...

Lauri Schroff was a successful advertising professional living in Manhattan in 1985 when a young boy begging for change stopped her in the middle of the street. For some reason not totally clear to her, she offered to buy him lunch, walked him through Central Park and began a relationship that changed both their lives. Lauri weaves together the story of young Maurice, raised in dire poverty by drug addicted adults, forced to fend for himself with her own story of growing up in a suburban home pl More...

I received this book through the GoodReads First-Reads program. Although the cover on my book looks nothing like the picture here, it's the same story.

I enjoyed the book and thought it was a good story.

There is a fair amount about Maurice and Laura, together, and how they effect each others lives, but there is a lot of back-story about Laura's life and growing up. I felt this was more a book for Laura than it was a book for Maurice. I am sure had it been written by Maurice, it would have had a c More...

“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 traditi More...

It was just another day working at the library receiving new books, when I came across this one. The title "An Invisible Thread," along side the image of the woman and boy, immediately caught my attention. After reading the subtitle I had seen enough and checked out the book.

My library "to read" books piled up and this one sat amongst them for a few weeks. So yesterday, after finishing a book, I turned to that "to read" pile and grabbed this one. I wasn't even in the mood for non-fiction and ye More...

This is our Book Club book for the month, I'm glad it was picked or I may not have come accross it. I liked this book even if I didn't always enjoy it. That is to be expected when telling a real life story about difficult times. I will recommend this book to others and probably give it as a gift to a few family members. It is hard to 'rate' a book about real life, I don't want to come accross as judging the true life characters. I do like it, but gave it 3 vs 4 starts because... the book seems t More...

This book was won as a GoodReads FirstRead. I probably never would have read this unless it had been loaned to me by someone else. That being said, I finished it in one sitting. It was a poignant story- no, it wasn't just a story- it was REAL! A great example of how family is not necessarily "blood"- it is made up of the people who love you and take care of you. I cried at times, I smiled at the pictures, I felt I came to know these people. I wish others were more like them, and maybe this book More...

I didn't know quite what to expect when I first read it. I was only really reading it because I wanted to know how a friendship between someone as upper class as Laurie and how someone like Maurice could be friends. That was interesting to me at first. But what really struck me was how amazing the book was. It taught me that I should never give up on my dreams.

I can relate to the boy Maurice and Laurie's childhoods. I have never been on the streets but I have always had my problems. I've had di More...

A good story. Uplifting which seems such a rare thing these days. Readable, and by that I mean somewhat simple. When I read memoirs I always feel the protagonist is whining. I know this isn’t a fair statement. They are writing about their lives and if they didn’t have things to whine about, it wouldn’t be much of a story. I understand why Laura compared Maurice’s life to her own but the harsh reality of Maurice’s made her complaints (serious though they were) seem frivolous. I almost think in th More...

This was an amazing book and I read it in 2 sittings. I may have stayed up a little later than I wanted to do so after a very long day at work, but you know what? It doesn't matter -- this book was that good.

A woman who came from a middle class neighborhood with an alcoholic abusive father is a successful business woman. Somehow she has overcome her lack of a college education and was in sales for a major newspaper when a young boy asked her for some change. Initially she just passes on by and t More...

I enjoyed this heartwarming memoir, the story of a New York career woman who, one day, actually stopped to talk to a child who was begging and found him to be a wonderful human being. I liked the fact that she didn't play lady bountiful and didn't see herself as his savior. As a matter of fact, she'll tell you that she got as much from the relationship as he did. The book provides a look at life in grinding poverty, a life where children see having a gun held to their head as a normal part of a More...

"An invisible thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, and circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle. But it will never break." ~ Ancient Chinese Proverb

"Excuse me, lady, do you have any spare change?"

This was the first thing he said to me, on 56th Street in New York City, right around the corner from Broadway, on a sunny September day.

And when I heard him, I didn't really hear him. His words were part of the clatter, like a car horn or someone yelling from More...

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 cha More...

I really liked this book but felt the writing could have been a little better. Just like the title describes...it was an unlikely meeting with destiny that was both so sad and yet so sweet. It made me feel hopeful that there are others out there trying to help their fellow man. I love that Ms.Schroff gave Maurice hope for his future and helped him to see that he could be more than the negative things he was told about himself.
I loved when she said (page 184)..."All of our stories, as much as the More...

I enjoyed reading this book and appreciated the author's lack of judgment on Maurice's situation. She seemed to report it with sympathy rather than condescension which helped the reader understand how their relationship thrived in the first place; she was a safe & understanding person for him. What was disappointing was that the book appeared to be, from the cover and description on the inside cover, entirely about Maurice and their relationship. So in the beginning the chapters that focused More...