First published 2017
Laura Schroff opens with the moment that transformed her understanding of human connection. In 1986, she was a busy advertising executive who stopped to buy lunch for Maurice Mazyck, an eleven-year-old boy asking for money on a street corner. Twenty years later, Maurice stood at her fiftieth birthday party and called her an angel sent by God. That encounter launched Schroff into a deeper exploration of how strangers touch each other's lives in unexpected ways. After publishing her first book about Maurice, readers began sending Schroff their own accounts of transformative meetings with unknown people. She weaves together these stories of ordinary individuals who chose compassion over indifference. A woman saves a life by purchasing a book for someone. A financial worker gives a stranger an extraordinary gift. A teacher offers a hug instead of punishment and redirects a troubled boy's path. Schroff argues that these moments of grace happen everywhere, creating invisible connections between people who need each other. She shows readers how small gestures can ripple outward in ways we never anticipate.
Genres: non-fiction, biography-memoir, inspirational, angels
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, inspirational
Period: 1986, 2000s
320 pages · Paperback · Howard Books