Laundromat Detour is an amusing and inspiring collection of poems exploring small business ownership and workplace connections with mindfulness and gratitude. On a career detour, as co-owner and hands-on attendant, the author embraces challenges and joys from inside a laundromat. Prose poems probe: the extra-ordinary nature of things including washers, security cameras, lost & found boxes, a talking vending machine - some not-so-mundane tasks such as mopping, using a Flip N Fold, managing staff - memorable customers - advice and similes in a “How to Handle a Talker” series - fictional backstories on laundry detritus left by customers like collar stays, fake fingernails, bullet casings and a space alien gift along with companion photographs of artwork from this treasure trove - perspectives on self and country during turbulent times While these musings arise from a laundromat, they have broad appeal and illustrate that the awareness and appreciation of all our daily connections-with objects, people, jobs-are essential to living more fully . “Clever,…offbeat,…poignant.” Come, take this detour! Leah M. Schulte has been a physical therapist, adjunct professor, executive director for a US-Nepal nonprofit and laundromat co-owner. She enjoys creating poems, prayers, personal essays, children's stories and homemade greeting cards. This is her debut publication. She lives near St. Louis. Connect with her at: www.leahmschulte.com