Summary: An Invisible Thread

An Invisible Thread, a non-fiction novel, was published on November 1st, 2011 by Howard Books. It was written by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski. This incredible book tells the story of the author, a well-established woman, and a young street boy’s friendship. As the story progresses, we learn about the young boy named Maurice’s life as well as Laura’s own. It becomes clear that it was almost as if their meeting was not a coincidence. Instead, it is speculated throughout the pages that they met based on fate, as if an invisible thread had pulled them together, hence the title An Invisible Thread. During the events that take place in this novel, many themes arise; including, friendship, diversity, the value of life, and most of all kindness. The personal struggles of everyday people are consistently expressed in a deeper, more meaningful way.
Throughout An Invisible Thread, I learned so much about simple acts of kindness.
In many instances, Laura would give Maurice gifts, meals, or bake for him to ensure that he would be happy. He never seemed to really fathom being given something that was his. From reading about this, I really found that simple acts of kindness can go a long way. You never truly know where someone is coming from, and with Maurice as an example, you can help change someone’s life without going far out of your way. It really isn’t necessary to spend hundreds of dollars to help someone, you sometimes only need to be kind and support them. When Laura helped Maurice, she changed his life forever. He had been living in horrible circumstances and was living mostly off of what he could gather from people by begging. All Laura did the first time they met was buy him a meal from MacDonald’s; however, by just that, their friendship started and they later became a practically un-separable pair. Kindness leads to happiness. By showing kindness, Laura actually did save Maurice’s life. He was starving, and probably depressed and she saved him from
it. I believe that Laura Schroff wrote this book to share her message. She wanted to tell people not only about Maurice, but also about how you can change someone’s life with kindness. Every action leaves a reaction, no matter how small it is. Personally, I think the main reason behind writing An Invisible Thread, was to give hope to people. Most of the book was about horrible life situations and struggles. The author wanted to show that there are always people around you and things, even something as simple as a bicycle, that can make life worth living. I think that this novel served that purpose well. This is my belief because when I read this book, I get a sense of sympathy and compassion. Laura carefully explained Maurice’s living condition and it made me feel so compelled to help others. I’ve learned a lot from such a simple story. I would most definitely recommend this book to others. Having said that, it does cover sensitive topics that some people might not like. Lots of the book mentions drugs, gangs, and other things like it; however, this is so that the reader really understands how horribly mistreated young Maurice was. It was done like that to show that he was young, alone, hurting, and wanting to escape the life he had set out for him. Depending on if you are sensitive to those types of topics or not, my recommendation is followed with caution. Otherwise, it has a heart-felt story that is really one worth reading.