Detailed Summary

The book An Invisible Thread is written by an advertising executive named Laura Schroff. In her book, she shared the story of her friend Maurice and how he changed her perspective on life.

Sometimes, we meet strangers and don’t know how important lessons they will teach us in life. Sometimes a random interaction leads to a lifetime friendship. And Sometimes, we don’t know we have the power to change someone’s life completely. And if something is meant to be will always make its way.

How Laura met Maurice

Laura Schroff, who is an advertising executive, met a young boy on the streets one day. She was going to work and that young boy who was 11 years old asked her for the spare change. Although Laura was in a hurry, something inside her stopped her and talked to the poor young boy. So, Laura took that boy to lunch and wanted to listen to his story.

After the first lunch, Laura wanted to meet and help him again, so she found him again. Then they used to meet every week. Laura and Maurice became friends.

“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 we might have been pales against what we have.”
― Laura Schroff

Maurice unstable childhood

The boy was an African American named Maurice whose life was extremely difficult, and he was struggling to survive. He didn’t see his father much because of gang affiliation. His mother used to sell cocaine to make both ends meet, while Maurice and his two siblings used to move from apartment to apartment to get some money.

They used to eat food from the trash cans. Besides this, Maurice’s mother had a drug addiction. She used to leave them at night to cope alone.

One day, Maurice saw her mother stabbing his father on the road, which left him speechless and traumatic.

“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.”
― Laura Schroff

Laura’s journey of achieving her dream job

But on the other hand, the book also tells us about Laura’s journey of becoming an advertising executive. She fought her own battles. Her father was an alcoholic and had violent outbursts with her siblings.

Because of her situation at home, she couldn’t do well in exams. She failed her exams but still wanted to do something for herself and her mother. So, she found a job and started working as a receptionist at Icelandic Airlines.

After that, she made enough contacts that she got a job offer from a travel magazine, and they hired her.  She got a lot of experience from working at an Airline and a travel magazine and wanted to achieve her dream job as an advertising executive. After a lot of hard work, she got her dream job in the USA and eventually became an advertising executive.

An Invisible Thread Summary – Key Points

Do you ever meet with a stranger and want to meet him/her again in life? This book explores the unlikely meeting of two strangers that turns into kindness friendship. The following are the book’s key points that give you insight into how to behave towards unknown and strangers.

If something is meant to be, it makes its way

The book gives us a lesson that nature connects with people, and the author gave this the name of an invisible thread that connects two people who were meant to be together.

Just like Laura and Maurice, who met randomly on the streets but found each other again. They became friends. Laura genuinely wants to help Maurice, so she used to meet him every week for lunch. She invited him for lunch at her home and then to baseball games.

Laura wanted to get permission from his mother to take him to baseball games. When Maurice did not return for the game, Laura felt something was wrong. So, she went to his home and got upset to see the condition of his home. Her mother was drunk, but she got the permission slip signed by his grandmother, and they went back.

“It’s something I call an invisible thread. It is, as the old Chinese proverb tells us, something that connects two people who are destined to meet, regardless of time and place and circumstance. Some legends call it the red string of fate; others, the thread of destiny.”
― Laura Schroff,

Be kind

“If love is the greatest gift of all-and I believe it is- then the greatest privilege of all is to be able to love someone.”
― Laura Schroff

The book  An Invisible Thread also teaches us a lesson about kindness. We should be kind to strangers, just like Laura genuinely helped Maurice and cared about his feelings.

Laura used to send lunch for Maurice to his School. Maurice, one day, asked her to send lunch in brown paper bags. This was the first thing that Maurice asked her to do. He explained the reason that kids in school bring lunch in brown paper bags.

And this is the token of care that explains the reason that kids in school bring lunch in brown paper bags. And this is the token of care that someone from home cares for them. Laura started sending lunch in a brown paper bag. It was not a big deal for her, but it meant the world to Maurice.

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The true value of Money

Laura says that after listening to Maurice’s life struggles, she realized the worth of money. She says that after helping Maurice, she truly felt happy. Whereas Maurice thinks that God sent Laura as an angel to help him and for guidance.

They both learned a lot from each other. Through Laura’s support and guidance, Maurice worked hard and now owns a construction company. He got married and became a father, but he will never forget Laura for her endless support. Whatever he is today is because of her.

“Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He said, “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
― Laura Schroff

Who would I recommend An Invisible Thread summary to?

The book is recommended to people who think that all beggars are professionals. They must read this book and understand that poverty and helplessness force someone to beg.