An Invisible Thread
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Authors: Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski
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Copyright © 2011 by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Howard Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Howard Books hardcover edition November 2011
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Designed by Ruth Lee-Mui
Edited by Jessica Wong
Manufactured in the United States of America
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schroff, Laura.
An invisible thread / by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski.
p. cm.
1. Schroff, Laura. 2. Mazyck, Maurice. 3. New York (N.Y.)—Biography. 4. Children and adults—Case studies. 5. Friendship—Case studies. 6. African American boys—New York (State)—New York—Biography. 7. Poor children—New York (State)—New York—Biography. 8. Women, White—New York (State)—New York—Biography. 9. Sales executives—New York (State)—New York—Biography. 10. Schroff, Laura—Childhood and youth. I. Tresniowski, Alex. II. Title.
F128.56.S37 2011
974.7′1—dc22 2011009636
ISBN 978-1-4516-4251-3
ISBN 978-1-4516-4292-6 (ebook)
All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible, public domain.
To all the children like Maurice whose lives are harder than we can imagine. Never lose hope that you can break the cycle and change your life. And never stop dreaming, because the power of dreams can lift you.
“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
When Laura Schroff walked into my Manhattan office for a job interview in 1978, I was impressed by her confidence and charmed by her personality but, frankly, not overwhelmed. At least not enough to hire her on the spot. I liked her a lot and had a good feeling about her, but I needed to know more—not just about her skills but also about her values. I needed to find out what kind of person she was.
Back then I was associate publisher of
Ms.
, a groundbreaking monthly magazine that debuted in 1972. The idea behind
Ms.
was simple yet profound: we strived to be a catalyst for change in our society.
Ms.
championed gender equality and gave women the courage and inspiration to reach their full potential, make their own choices, and compete in the male-dominated arena of corporate America. Back in the ’70s, we weren’t living in a world where nearly 40
percent of Harvard Business School graduates are women, as they are today. Nor was Oprah Winfrey on TV five times a week encouraging women to live bolder, fuller lives. Oprah’s own inspirational magazine,
O
, wasn’t even the germ of an idea in 1978.
In many ways
Ms.
was out there on its own, paving the way for women like Oprah and seeking to empower a generation of future leaders. And this mandate gave those of us who worked at
Ms.
an overwhelming sense of responsibility. We felt we weren’t just doing a job—we were helping change the world! As associate publisher, one of my jobs was to hire women to sell advertising pages in the magazine, an essential and challenging job at any magazine but much more so at
Ms.
The flipside to being new and different is having people not quite understand what you stand for, and for a long time the national ad community looked at
Ms.
like a skunk at a picnic. So our salespeople had to work hard to sell not only ad pages but also the message, values, and point of view of the magazine. I needed women who understood this challenge, who shared my devotion to the magazine’s vision, who could march into hostile surroundings and change the way people thought. I needed someone with deeply felt values and the courage to fight for them.
