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

How do I begin to thank Maurice for coming into my life and changing it forever? Over the years, many people have told me how lucky Maurice was to have met me, but my response was always, No, I was lucky to have met him. Maurice, you have brought so much joy into my life and showed me in many ways the true meaning of friendship, and for that all I can say is, Thank you, with all my heart. Thank you also to Maurices wife and my dear friend Michelle, for being there for Maurice when I was not. I am so proud of the two of you and your exceptional, loving family.

My very deepest thanks to my dear mother, for her amazing strength and unconditional love, and to my father, who was great when he was good. You for showed me the true meaning of hard work. Because of what you instilled in me, I was able to have a remarkable career in advertising. And, to my brother Frank, who is at peace and will always be dearly loved. I think of you every day.

There is an old saying, You can pick your friends, but you cant pick your family. That may be true, but I couldnt have chosen sisters and brothers more wonderful than the ones I have. Annette Lubsen, Nancy Johansen, and Steven Carinothank you for allowing me to open up our lives and share our story with the world. Most important, thank you for the incredible support and love you have shown me not only through this entire process but throughout my entire life.

To my brother-in-law Bruce Lubsen, thank you for showing Maurice how important it is to be an understanding, loving, and comforting father. You had a tremendous impact on Maurice, and you play an integral role in his life today. To Colette Lubsen-Reid, Brooke Lubsen, and Jena Johansen, my sweet and loving nieces, you have been there for me every step of the way. Your constant interest and support is incredible, and I love you all very much. To my brother-in-law John Johansen and my nephews Christian Johansen and Derek Lubsenwe are so proud of all of you. To my mothers sister and brother, Aunt Diana Robedee and Uncle Pat Procino, thank you for always keeping us close in your hearts.

The name of this book is relevant to another special relationship in my life. My coauthor Alex and I worked together for seventeen years at Time Inc., and our paths never crossed. He was on the edit side and I was in advertising, but through the help of my friend Martha Nelson, we were brought together. Thank you, Alex, for recognizing the power of my story and for committing to help me tell it. Just like Maurice, you were someone I was destined to meet, and Id like to think that, once again, this was my mother orchestrating from high above.

A very special thank-you to my dear friend and mentor Valerie Salembier, who wrote the beautiful, heartfelt foreword for this book. You were the first person I told about my new friend, and I thank you for believing I knew what I was doing. Your love, support, and friendship over thirty-plus years have been simply incredible.

So many people have untold stories, and without our powerful literary agent our story would have stayed untold, too. To Jan Miller, thank you for believing our book could make a difference. There arent enough words to express my gratitude to you. You and your team at Dupree/Miller have been so incredibly supportive, and it is an honor to work with you all.

A very special thanks to Nena Madonia, for her relentless support and for helping to make sure An Invisible Thread found the right home. Nena, you have been such a remarkable partner through this entire process. I am so proud to call you not only my agent but, more important, my very dear friend.

The right home for a book makes all the difference, and how lucky for us that Jonathan Merkh and Becky Nesbitt at Howard Books not only embraced our story but did so with such passion. You loved it from the beginning. I will always be indebted to the both of you, and I cannot thank all of you enough. Jessica Wong, our talented editor, what can I say about your unyielding support and obvious love for our story? Thank you for making our journey an extraordinary and seamless one. You have been our champion. A special thanks to the brilliant and talented team at Howard Books, especially Betty Woodmancy and Jennifer Smith.

A very special thank-you to all of my friends at Time Inc. To Martha Nelson, whom I met at Ms. magazinehow lucky and happy I am that our paths continued to cross throughout my career. You have always been there for me, and I thank you for helping me connect with Alex. To Paul Caine, who remembers my early days with Maurice and who has always been a true champion of our relationship. I cant say how much I appreciate your constant encouragement. To David Geithner, who has shown enormous enthusiasm for my story, and to his colleagues Rebecca Sanhueza and Nancy Valentino. And a special mention to the amazing PR team of Sandi Shurgin-Werfel and Heidi Krupp.

To all of my friends at USA Today who were so supportive of my relationship with Maurice, thank you. A special thanks to Lou and Donna Cona, who had such empathy for Mauriceand brought him bags of clothing when he needed them most.

Teachers are paid to teach, but in the case of Miss Kim House, she did more than teachshe cared. Thank you for the enormous compassion you showed Maurice and for how you went above and beyond the call of duty. I commend you, and so should the highest powers in the New York City school system because, in you, they have someone who has made a real difference in the lives of children.

I believe people come into our lives for a reason, and that is the case with my very dear friend and advisor Laura Lynne Jackson. Thank you for sharing your very special gift with me. Your words of encouragement, insight, and support helped me believe our book would happen. When there was no word, you kept encouraging me to enjoy the downtimeyou called it the calm before the storm. And you were so right! You have brought an enormous amount of peace and comfort into my life.

Over many, many years Ive been so blessed with the great gift of friendship. Friends do not come in beautiful blue boxes with white satin bows; they just show up and change your life. To all of the dear friends who have been there through so many of my ups and downs, I can only hope I repaid a fraction of the love and support you gave me. A heartfelt thank-you to Christina Albee and Gregg Goldsholl and sweet Clare, Lori Cohn, June Deane, Susan Egan, Mary Gallagher-Vassilakos, Susan Goldfarb, Barbara Groner-Robinton, Cherie and Joseph Guccione, Scott Jacobs, Lori Ressa-Kyle, Nora and Ed McAniff, Darcy Parriott-Phillips, Mary Phillips, Brette Popper and Paul Spraos, Lauren Price, Andrea Rogan, Phoebe Rothkopf, Kim Schechter, Janet Shechter, Lori Levine-Silver, Donna Smith, Sue and John Spahlinger, Pam Stanger, Stacie Sullivan, Lynn Ruane-Tuttle, Michael Wellner, and Kevin White. Thank you also to my friend and hairdresser, Liell Hilligoss at Pierre Michel, and to my photographer, Joseph Moran.

Finally, Id like to thank all of you, the readers of this book. I hope you, too, will look at your own lives and think about how an invisible thread has connected you to the special people in your lives. I believe it does not happen by accident.

Laura Schroff

I feel incredibly lucky to have had Laura Schroff and Maurice Mazyck come into my life. Laura, thank you so much for trusting me to help tell your remarkable story. Im in awe of your generous heart and beautiful spirit, and the way you live your life is an inspiration. Maurice, my fellow Knicks fan, Im blown away by your strength and courage and conviction, and by your beautiful wife and children. You are a hero to me.