16 “I COULDN’T BE HAPPIER FOR THE INVISIBLE STRING TO BE MY LEGACY” How a children’s book, dreamed up by a concerned mum, has spread its message of love and connection around the world.
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t’s been 25 years since Patrice Karst first dreamed up the concept for her bestselling book, The Invisible String.
“It began when my son was five, and developed really bad separation anxiety,” she recalls.
couldn’t see me, by an invisible string.
WITH ME OF HOW THEY’VE BEEN
“Something about hearing that tangible idea, of a very abstract concept of love and connection, cured his separation anxiety overnight.”
HELPED BY THE BOOK,” SHE SAYS.
The idea fresh in her mind, single mum Patrice approached a small publisher she knew, and told him the idea. He agreed to print it.
Over the next two decades, The Invisible String became a worldwide “I’D TAKE HIM TO SCHOOL, AND AS phenomenon, read in homes, schools, I WENT TO LEAVE, HE’D CRY; IT WAS libraries, learning centres, hospices, and grief organisations all over the REALLY HEARTBREAKING. world - and completely changing Patrice’s life. “One day, I just told him what was “I RECEIVED SO MANY LETTERS, obvious to me, which was that we were connected all day long, even though he FROM FAMILIES SHARING STORIES
“It became the number one children’s book for death and dying, because of one page where the children ask if the invisible string can reach all the way to Uncle Brian in heaven, and mom says ‘of course’.” And 25-years on from its release, its simple tale - a reminder of the love and connection we share with those who can’t be with us - has never been more relevant. “Since the start of the pandemic, I’ve been getting more letters than ever,” says Patrice, speaking from her home in Southern California where she, like
