“Mel Gentry Bosna’s In the House of Me could very well be the testimony used in college classes regarding the study of consent. It provides a thorough and relatable analysis of how the term applies further than its well-known sexual context. Two chapters particularly resonated with me. Being a woman and growing up in a church have had significant affects on my life. Mel’s writing about these experiences help me realize I am not alone in these experiences and justifies my feelings. She is raw in her own experiences and inspires vulnerability. Mel provides insight through her studies and through the perspectives of some of her clients to further illustrate the importance of “embodied consent.” Reading her testimonies with clients gave me insight on how to assist my own clients in a similar role that I will be pursuing. Her writing is as informative as it is engaging. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking to learn more on consent or who wants to understand the many complexities that come with being a human.” —Reader Review

“If you were to ask me who the leading thinker on shame is I would direct you to Brené Brown without blinking. And if you were to ask me who has revolutionized the conversation around accountability and consent I would immediately turn you in the direction of Mel Gentry Bosna. In my opinion these two women are paving new parallel roads on behalf of us all.

I wholeheartedly see Mel’s work and research as containing the potential to shift how humanity engages with one another. She explores pathways that have been ignored or dismissed, third ways that lead to the kind of accountability that invites repair and a return to safety, all while continuing to protect and center the people who have been harmed.

We have all brushed up against the rigid societal norms of a “call-out” and maybe some of us have noticed that, when attempting that route, we often end up at a mutual dead end. Mel engages with the distinctly different energy of calling-in, of inviting true change and a mouthful of ownership. She clarifies the nuances of consent and invites everyone at her table to consider the ways it has been honored or neglected and how that has impacted us. Last year I invited Mel to teach a session on reparative accountability inside my online community and we’re all still talking about her ideas, her research, and her invitation to a third way that serves the fierce and tender energy of love. So for the ones who want to evolve and grow and heal inside of community and repair, I cannot recommend Mel’s work and writing and teaching enough. I have the upmost reverence and respect for the gift of both her mind and her heart.”

—Stephanie Greene, founder of Wild Soul & author, In The Direction Of You

“Mel's book, In the House of Me, led me on a guided tour back to myself and my deepest, most intimate places and stories and experiences. Her vulnerable and raw truth created space for me to lean into my own truth and my past - where I was never asked for consent, never knew how to give it or withhold it, nor did I ever ask anyone else for consent. I know what it is to be wounded and violated sexually. I also have experienced the violence and betrayal of religious abuse. I know what it is to be silenced in church and at home. But this book, these chapters, these invitations to say more, to reclaim by body, to resist systems that try to hijack autonomy and voice, and to learn how to understand, give, request, and rescind consent - Mel's adept, gentle, fierce, and always brave handling of tender topics offered me onramps onto highways of rapidly moving thoughts and also down quiet lanes of gentle reflection. And all of it brought me back to the house of me. I look forward to rereading this book and finding more ways to integrate Mel's wisdom, her stories, and her teaching on consent into every area of my life. This bold statement from Mel's "Invitation," issued in the earliest pages of the book, summarizes beautifully where I find myself having read this masterpiece of hers: "The world of survivors is steadily unleashing a rebelliousness that does not just hope by intends greater safety; many of us have the taste of consent on our lips, and we're hungry for more." I am indeed hungry for more. Read this book - and have your own hunger both satisfied and intensified. That's certainly what this book has done for me. Keep on writing, Mel. Keep telling the truth. Keep pointing us home.”

—Reader Review

“The gentleness and compassion in which Mel Bosna defines, teaches, and explores all forms of consent is life giving. It has completely awoken an understanding within me that immediately informed my parenting in a healthier direction for my children. I’m so grateful for the ways that Mel both simplifies examples of consent and explores it in depth and breadth to ensure the understanding lands and is flushed out for the reader. I recommend this book to all humans who want healthier boundaries, healthier relationships, and a healthier society filled with respect, compassion, and healing.”

—Reader Review

“Mel guides us through, arguably, some of the deepest waters. She allows space for us to confront our own reflections with honesty and calls us into greater integrity while showing us ways she practices doing so herself, lighting each room gently and on purpose, room by room in the house of herself.” —Corinne Shark, author of Slow Burn

“Mel’s clear and gentle voice called me home to myself. This book is an invitation to witness her exploration of consent, what it could really mean for healing and repair, and, most amazingly, how to access it within the body.”

—Sarah VanHolland, MC, LPC, Trauma Therapist

“As a Trauma-Informed Book Coach and Editor, I am always looking for material to recommend to writers, creatives, and practitioners healing their story and helping others do the same. In The House of Me is the book on consent that we have all been begging for.

Mel brilliantly invites us into her story and those of her clients, challenging our ideas about what consent is and how we can apply it to every arena of our lives. Thank you, thank you, thank you Mel for the book that will be a game changer for us all.”

—Megan Febuary, author of For Women Who Roar

“Who knew that the topic of consent could have such a far reach into so many aspects of our human experience! The words "Seminal Work" kept rolling around in my brain as I devoured the book. I could hardly put it down and I wholeheartedly agree with the other reviewer that said this work on consent is like Brene Brown's work on shame. Mel's book is a must read for anyone and everyone in their journey towards wholeness.”

—Reader Review