An Interview with Melissa Baker
Dr Mel Baker is an author, speaker, and storyteller whose work explores resilience, identity, and the courage to rebuild. Drawing on her own lived experience, from early childhood trauma to frontline chaplaincy and military service, Mel writes with clarity, compassion, and unflinching honesty. Her work creates spaces of safety and truth for those navigating their own healing. Through the Bridge trilogy, she blends expertise with lived wisdom to offer hope, meaning, and a path toward wholeness for anyone ready to transform their life.
Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?
I named the trilogy about twenty-five years ago, long before I knew I would ever write these books. The bridge was a metaphor that helped me survive and make sense of my own life. Over time, it became the framework for how I understood healing, identity, and the courage to rebuild.
In Building the Bridge, that metaphor shifts – the bridge becomes a path in search of connection, stability, belonging, and freedom. The title came naturally, as it wasn’t something I invented for the book, it was something that had been carrying me for decades.
How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?
As a graphic designer, I already had a very clear image of this cover in my mind – the colours, the tone, the feeling it needed to hold. I gave a rough draft to Ronaldo’s team, and Kevin brought it to life beautifully, adding his own creative flare. Together we shaped a cover that draws you in and makes you curious before you’ve even opened the first page.
Every time I hold the book, I’m still pulled toward the cover. The symbolism is so deeply tied to my journey that it feels like holding a piece of my own story in my hands.
Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?
I’ve been writing since I could first hold a pencil. The first book I ever wrote was on a typewriter when I was nine, and even then I knew I needed to tell my story. Writing became the place where my inner turmoil could come out safely, long before I had the language or support to understand it.
Interestingly, I didn’t grow up reading. I didn’t start until college at twenty-five, and then something opened. By the time I was doing my doctorate at thirty-four, I was reading twenty books at once – hungry for ideas, stories, and meaning. That combination of lived experience, writing as survival, and a late but intense love of reading, shaped the voice that eventually became Building the Bridge.
What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?
I also work in podcasting. I created Living Reflections, a podcast that weaves lived experience, emotional truth, and grounded storytelling into conversations about healing, leadership, and being human. What began as a small reflective project has grown into a community, with listeners and guests returning season after season.
Most readers wouldn’t know that producing the podcast has become one of the most meaningful parts of my work. It allows me to create the same sense of safety, depth, and connection that I write about, but in a more intimate, real-time way.
What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?
The most meaningful part of publishing this book was working with my writing coach, Megan Sells. Megan helped me reach a completely new level in my writing. I wanted readers to walk with me through the story – to feel what I felt, see what I saw, and experience the journey as if they were beside me. Megan taught me how to write with all my senses, and that changed everything. It allowed the book to become not just a story, but an experience.
If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?
The soundtrack would shift with the emotional landscape of the book. At times it would be epic, dramatic, cinematic instrumental – the kind of music I used in the book trailer (https://youtu.be/o9IiBgGHfRA), capturing the intensity and momentum of the journey. Other moments would call for something more intimate, like a violin quartet or a lone saxophone playing a wandering melody, reflecting the quieter, more vulnerable parts of the story. And there would absolutely be a song like My Declaration by Eliza Bennett – something honest, hopeful, and fiercely human.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?
When an industry reviewer wrote, “Building the Bridge taught me the true meaning of healing,” (Readers’ Favorite) tears rolled down my face. Ruffina Oserio understood me, not just the events of my life, but the emotional truth beneath them. This is why I write.
If my story can help someone shift into a life that feels worthy, while, and possible for them, then I’ve done what I set out to do. The book is as much about by own healing as it is about offering a path for others. When a reader feels moved, seen, or changed in some way, it means the bridge I built reached them, and that is the greatest reward.
What creative projects are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on the Audible version of Building the Bridge, which feels like giving the story a new voice and a new way for readers to experience the journey. I’m also developing a wellbeing book series – short, accessible books that offer hope, clarity, and practical guidance for people navigating their own healing. Once those are underway, I’ll finally turn my attention to writing the last book in the trilogy, Climbing the Bridge, which will bring this long arc of my life and storytelling to its natural completion.
How was working with Atmosphere Press? What would you tell other writers who want to publish?
Working with Atmosphere Press genuinely felt like being part of a team. I never felt alone in the publishing process – whenever I had a question, someone was there with guidance, clarity, or reassurance. After publishing two of my six books with AP, I’ve learned so much about the industry and about myself as a writer. For any author looking for a collaborative, supportive publishing experience, it’s been a worthwhile investment.
Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.
Atmosphere Press is a selective hybrid publisher founded in 2015 on the principles of Honesty, Transparency, Professionalism, Kindness, and Making Your Book Awesome. Our books have won dozens of awards and sold tens of thousands of copies. If you’re interested in learning more, or seeking publication for your own work, please explore the links below.