It was late January of this year. I was on the beach
in St. Maarten, alternating between dozing and
reading. My wife was on the chair next to me,
engrossed in a book. I noticed she was wiping her
eyes, so I laughed and made a dumb comment about the trash
novel I thought she was reading.
Roz said, "No, this is an amazing story. You have to read it when
I'm done."
When she finished, she gave me her e-reader and I started reading,
not knowing what to expect. I couldn't put it down. It was the story
of a successful businesswoman who did what so many of us in New
York City do when we see a homeless person asking for money or
food – she walked past him.
But, the book tells us, on that particular day 26 years ago, some-
thing prompted Laura Schroff to stop, turn around and walk back a
block. She asked the 11-year old boy who had asked her for money
if he was hungry and if she could she buy him something to eat.
Maurice, who lived with his drug-addicted mother in a welfare hotel,
told Laura "yes" and the two went to the nearby McDonald's.
That's how a 26-year friendship began between two of the most
unlikely candidates for friendship. As I read, the book took me
through weekly lunches at McDonald's where the two slowly got to
know each other. The businesswoman eventually ventured beyond
the fast food restaurant with the boy, teaching him things most 11-
year olds know, but which Maurice didn't – like how to use utensils
to eat or how to blow his nose.
There were times when Maurice didn't show up for the weekly
lunch – sometimes disappearing for weeks or months and causing
Laura to wonder if he was alright. But eventually he'd show up and
the friendship continued over the years.
Laura's friendship and guidance helped keep Maurice from drugs
and gangs and the other dangerous temptations in his world. And
the talks and times with Maurice helped Laura come to terms with
challenges she had faced growing up in middle-class suburbia where,
behind the closed doors of her own home, lay the terror of living
with an alcoholic and sometimes abusive father.
The book has a wonderful ending, and I found myself wiping away
tears on the beach as my wife chided me for having teased her the
day before when she finished the book. What made the story
especially hard-hitting is that it is true.
I was so moved that, while still on vacation, I sent an email to one
of my clients. I told her -- the head of a non-profit group called The
Christophers – that she had to read this book. But in this case, it
wasn't just telling a friend about a book I thought she might enjoy.
I was recommending the book for consideration for a Christopher
Award, given every year to the creators of books, feature films and
television programs that tell stories of how one individual can make
a difference. Over a period of more than 15 years working with The
Christophers, this was the first time I had ever made such a
suggestion.
So I was thrilled a few weeks later when I was given the informa-
tion about the Christopher Award winners, and I saw "An Invisible
Thread" on the winners' list. It was the book I had read on the
beach in January.
In the course of doing advance publicity for the Christopher Awards
ceremony, I contacted the publishers of the winning books and, in a
few cases, the authors themselves to get background and arrange
for media interviews. So it was a strange thrill that day last month
when I made the call to Laura Schroff, to talk about her availability
for press interviews. And I told her how my wife had given me the
book to read on the beach and how it made me cry. We struck up a
friendship by phone and email, which was easy for me since I
already knew this woman's personal life story.
Last Thursday night, the Christophers held their 63rd annual awards
ceremony. Nearly two dozen people were honored for their work in
books, films and TV, and special awards were given to former New
York Jets player Marty Lyons for his work over 30 years of helping
fulfill the wishes of seriously ill kids, and to Mother Dolores Hart, a
cloistered nun who is the subject of a book and a film, but is best-
known from her days as an actress who shared the first on-screen
kiss with Elvis Presley.
For me, though, the night was made extra special by finally meeting
Laura Schroff (and her co-writer Alex Tresniowski) along with
Maurice Mazyck, who is now a charming, soft-spoken man in his
late 30s. As we hugged, I knew that my circle of friends has been
expanded in a special way.
And it started with a book on the beach.
I love my job.
Maurice, me and Laura
at The Christopher Awards