Personal touch marks grad’s new book

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Melissa Skyer '06

Train Gone, Sorry is the intriguing title of a new book by Melissa Skyer ’06 (M.S., environmental science)

“The title is a common American Sign Language idiom that means ‘Sorry, you missed something we said and no one is repeating it for you,’ or something along those lines,” Skyer explains. The train metaphor, she adds, also relates “to the common elements in all of our lives; the things that have passed and can no longer be retrieved.”

The 100-page volume contains her artwork and poetry on subjects ranging from grief to relationships to hearing loss. The book is available as a download or print version from Lulu.com, an on-demand publisher.

Skyer, born a hearing child of deaf parents, learned ASL before she could talk. Her life changed unexpectedly in 2005, when she lost her hearing as the result of surgery to remove a brain tumor. She subsequently completed her degree and moved to Chicago, where she landed a job with Burns and McDonnell, a major engineering,

architecture, construction, environmental and consulting firm.

Train Gone, Sorry is Skyer’s second book of poetry and photos.

For more information, visit Skyer's Lulu page.