Say My Name
Based on Melissa Baker’s book Sleeping Under the Bridge. Winner of…
My work explores the long arc from chaos to clarity – through books, film, wellbeing education, and lived wisdom. Each project is an invitation to reconnect with truth, presence, and the quiet work of rebuilding a life from the inside out.
Dr. Mel Baker’s award-winning trilogy traces a journey from trauma to transformation. These books are for anyone navigating pain, purpose, and the long road to renewal.
Award-winning short film based on Sleeping Under the Bridge, Say My Name, created, co-written and produced by Mel Baker. “This movie has such a gripping presence.” – John B. Bronson (NYC).
I believe adversity can be transformed. My stories explore how courage, faith, and emotional clarity can turn loss into purpose and pain into growth.
Faith, for me, is both anchor and invitation. It’s how I search for meaning beyond circumstance. I weave spirituality with evidence, compassion and lived experience.
I write and speak about who we are in relation to others—how community, culture, and compassion shape healing, visibility, and hope.
Hope isn’t just optimism; it’s something we build. Through story and research, I explore how hope can be practiced, sustained, and reclaimed— even in uncertainty.
I translate decades of wellbeing research into narratives that connect mind, body and spirit. It’s where emotional truth meets academic depth.
I believe words can heal. Whether on stage or on the page, I use storytelling to create understanding, empathy and belonging.
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35 years of experience
56 countries spoken in
95 book and film awards
Dr. Rick Williams: Sleeping Under the Bridge
Her resilience, her unwavering determination to find hope in the face of unimaginable adversity, is both heart-wrenching and inspirational.”
Best Damn Film Awards, Winner: Best International Film & Best Drama (2023)
Building the Bridge taught me the true meaning of healing, and watching it happen in the life of a courageous woman was moving. This memoir is filled with lessons for anyone struggling with abuse and trauma.
Readers’ Favorite Review (Ruffina Oserio): Building the Bridge
A raw, open-hearted memoir that shows quiet strength in the midst of family secrets and trauma. Building the Bridge is a heartbreaking, emotionally resonant memoir that gives strength and grace to its readers and guides them toward self-healing.
Independent Book Review (Tomi Alo): Building the Bridge
I’m terrified of horses, but healing an ex-racehorse of its demons—and vice versa—was a powerful read. Amazing.
Jen: Conflict to Hope
Baker’s writing courageously and lucidly excavates deep emotional recesses… Stylistically explosive at times…the memoir is meditative as well. Baker is a talented, versatile writer whose frank book will resonate strongly with those facing similar issues.”
Kirkus Review: Sleeping Under the Bridge
A book about hope and how the human spirit holds onto life… With love and compassion, a life worth living can be found. A powerful read.
David Vernon, Stringybark Publishing, Sleeping Under the Bridge
Baker’s memoir examines the limitations of trying to outrun the past, even when doing good things in far corners of the world. The author is a skilled travel writer, and the missionary sections are often striking. …open-hearted memoir of faith, forgiveness, and travel.
Kirkus Review: Building the Bridge
I found it to be a gripping read of an honest, beautiful and sad account of the young life of a resilient survivor of parental abuse. It is frank, startlingly so, and a great insight into the mind and heart of an abuse survivor on the journey towards illusive healing.
Rev. Dr. John Reid: Sleeping Under the Bridge
You’ve proven you can do anything you want against all odds. You’re an inspiration to me and I’m sure to others.
Darrell Jones: Painting Beauty with the Ashes
Based on Melissa Baker’s book Sleeping Under the Bridge. Winner of…
Dr. Mel Baker explores why a leader’s legacy isn’t built in…
On the submarine, Mel had no escape from her persecutor. On…
Emotional healing begins with grounding your body and assessing the stability of your foundation — personal, communal, environmental, and transcendental (see my Wellbeing Model). When you understand which parts of your life feel steady and which feel fragile, you can see where support is needed. This grounding creates the safety required to work with your emotional core responses: feeling understood, self‑management, positive self‑talk, and adaptability.
Storytelling helps the brain organise overwhelming experiences into meaning, coherence, and context. When you give language to what you’ve lived, you reclaim agency and reduce the shame that thrives in silence. Storytelling doesn’t reopen wounds, it integrates them, allowing you to move forward with clarity and self‑respect.
When I write my books, I am healing myself through the process.
Resilience begins with stabilising your nervous system and acknowledging what the setback cost you. From there, you rebuild through reconnection — with yourself, with others, and with the routines and values that anchor you. True resilience isn’t about bouncing back; it’s about becoming someone more grounded, honest, and aligned than before.
Building the Bridge is the process of integrating who you were, what you survived, and who you are becoming. It’s not about “getting over” trauma but creating a pathway between fragmentation and wholeness. The bridge is built from truth, compassion, and purpose — the foundations that allow you to reclaim your life on your own terms.
"The bridge before me, once a skeletal structure built from the fragments by a shared compassion and raw courage of vulnerability. Every tender plank was forged through healing, each moment of self-acceptance and connection a testament to my journey." (p253)
Rebuilding trust starts with recognising the impact of the betrayal on your sense of safety, identity, and self‑worth. Trust isn’t restored through promises but through consistent actions, clear boundaries, and emotional honesty — with yourself first, and then with others. Healing from betrayal is ultimately about reclaiming your own integrity, not waiting for someone else to earn it back.
Reach out to Dr. Mel Baker for event bookings, author talks, or speaking invitations. Whether it’s a conference, podcast, or community event, she welcomes meaningful opportunities to share stories of faith, resilience and renewal.