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The Trauma of Money: Mapping Compassionate Pathways to Healing Financial Trauma and Disempowering Financial Shame
320 pages, Hardcover
Published September 23, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 11, 2026
Deeply appreciate this book for directly addressing the intersection of money, trauma, and psychology. I haven’t read many books that openly discussed topics such as anxious and avoidant attachments to money, compulsive spending or money avoidance (e.g., saving though not investing or refusing to spend at all), how or whether it’s possible to accumulate money while holding social justice values, etc. The Trauma of Money is accessibly written, smart, and overall comprehensive without feeling overwhelming. While there were some sections that came across as “we’re going to take X and Y topic and apply it to money” (e.g., a chapter on neuroscience, a chapter about internal family systems), I still think this book is helpful for reflecting on your own relationship with money, either simply for yourself or so you can have more of these honest conversations with clients.
November 17, 2025
I can’t recommend this book enough. I’ve been interested in this topic for a long time but could never articulate it. I went through a period in my early 20s when I would overtip (50%), foot the bill at fine dining establishments I couldn’t afford, and compulsively spend money simply to manage the tension and frustration that seemed to be my constant companions. Experienced chest tightening over a bank statement or whenever I was at an ATM, praying my card wouldn’t decline when I made a purchase.
I’m so grateful to the universe for leading me to this book because it reduces the shame I’ve internalized around my financial irresponsibility.
This is not a pragmatic financial advice book. Chantel Chapman proves that financial literacy isn’t the be all and end all of achieving financial stability, highlighting the invisible blockages that cause people to sabotage their financial goals namely, our nervous system, financial comfort zones, and relational trauma and so much more! I’m a trauma geek, so I didn’t really learn anything new, but the connection she made between trauma AND its inextricable link to financial habits was eye opening!!!
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I’m so grateful to the universe for leading me to this book because it reduces the shame I’ve internalized around my financial irresponsibility.
This is not a pragmatic financial advice book. Chantel Chapman proves that financial literacy isn’t the be all and end all of achieving financial stability, highlighting the invisible blockages that cause people to sabotage their financial goals namely, our nervous system, financial comfort zones, and relational trauma and so much more! I’m a trauma geek, so I didn’t really learn anything new, but the connection she made between trauma AND its inextricable link to financial habits was eye opening!!!
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April 22, 2026
wow 10 stars. this book gave me so much language and context for the shame that i have been carrying about money. i am so grateful for this resource and i am so grateful that financial psychology is starting to become more and more mainstream. while i did not care too much for the actual methodology presented at the end, the level of depth and compassion oriented lens on this complex topic is so desperately needed at a time where capitalism is collapsing and new structures are being rebirthed. thank you to all who put this together 🙏🏽
February 28, 2026
I came around this book way before it was launched, when I started to notice some damaging patterns in my relationship with money and I came across the author. A lot of the things she said about the connection between trauma and money resonated with me, so I decided to purchase the book, but It hadn't been launched so I had to wait.
I don't know if it's the fact that I continued doing the work, and recognize all the trauma in me, but when I read the book, it wasn't what I expected. I wanted an entire framework of her program and all I got was a list of social proof of her program (you do that on social media). Only from chapter 16 or so I thought it was worth it, but her program in itself is explained in 10 pages, which completely defeats the purpose of the book (at least how it's been sold).
Another thing I didn't like, is the fact that the book references different studies which are not academic research at all, so I think the results are extremely biased based on the populations where the studies where conducted, this is not bad per se, but there should be a disclaimer of some sort about it.
However, if you've never done the research, you can find a lot of interesting facts about human behavior in the book... In itself, it's a good idea, with a poor execution (not everyone is meant to write a book, or maybe the first one always sucks).
I don't know if it's the fact that I continued doing the work, and recognize all the trauma in me, but when I read the book, it wasn't what I expected. I wanted an entire framework of her program and all I got was a list of social proof of her program (you do that on social media). Only from chapter 16 or so I thought it was worth it, but her program in itself is explained in 10 pages, which completely defeats the purpose of the book (at least how it's been sold).
Another thing I didn't like, is the fact that the book references different studies which are not academic research at all, so I think the results are extremely biased based on the populations where the studies where conducted, this is not bad per se, but there should be a disclaimer of some sort about it.
However, if you've never done the research, you can find a lot of interesting facts about human behavior in the book... In itself, it's a good idea, with a poor execution (not everyone is meant to write a book, or maybe the first one always sucks).
May 17, 2026
I really didn't like this book, which is a shame because based on the title, I believe there is a huge opportunity to be addressed in this space. I'm very familiar with the popular people in the sphere of financial advice, etc, and I'm also very well-read on books about money, psychology, and habits. I haven't seen a good book or person really dive deep into the psychology of how we feel about money (Morgan Housel's book came close) or how it impacts our day-to-day (Ramit Sethi's material comes close). This book, however, I found found to be very "problem-focused", "woe is me", etc., and I got to the end of it wondering how I was any better off having read it.
What's important, in my belief, as it comes to financial topics is how people are motivated to take action and actually change their lives. I suspect many people will get to the end of this book and feel great satisfaction in knowing that "someone finally GETS me!", whether that's because now they can point at Capitalism as the big bad wolf causing all of their problems, or the fact that the system in which we live is "rigged" so that they were starting from a different spot, or the wealthy elite of society are taking all the money and not paying their fair share of taxes. The book is incredibly biased and I will expand on a few examples below:
- The book states that the top 1% of people on this earth have more than double the wealth than the bottom 6.9 billion people. However, I would ask the author what her ideal state would be: should everyone have an equal net worth? Even if the top 1% were to have 10x less wealth, then they would claim that the top 1% (70 million people) has more wealth than the bottom one billion people and still try to garner just as much outrage.
- Pink tax is brought up as a claim that women are being forced to pay more for the same product. This has been thoroughly disproven: https://www.cato.org/commentary/pink-...
- Capitalism (rebranded gapitalism) is claimed to be this big, bad thing. However, it only became this big, bad thing 600 years ago - before that, it was all hunky-dory. My two issues here are: firstly, that nothing significant changed 600 years ago and the alleged issues with capitalism (which I do not believe are issues) have existed since the dawn of time; and secondly, that again, if we go back to my first and overarching critique of this book, all it does is complain. The author expresses her disdain for capitalism and then ends the chapter by saying, "I don't know what solution would be better - I just know this one has flaws".
- One chapter has this quote within, which really stuck with me: "Have you ever stopped to consider how strange it is that we have earn a living to pay for our lives?" The author presents this quotation as, I believe, yet another argument against capitalism. She follows it up by talking about how homeless people are punished for sleeping in public parks, and how our current society allows the "evil landlord" to charge another human for the ability to put a roof over his or her head. Again, I ask, what is the ideal state that the author would prefer? Should the government provide free housing to all individuals living within its society? With what money? Looking back to our earliest days on this earth, which the author does constantly (albeit with a yet again biased viewpoint): if there were 5 people on an island, they absolutely needed to earn a living if they wanted to stay alive. There would be a need to hunt for food, start and tend the fire, build shelter, etc. If one of those five people said "I'm just going to sit here and eat the food that you catch while contributing nothing to society", how long do you think that person would be able to exist on the island? I often find it quite helpful to look at things from many angles and to return to first principles when thinking about what the ideal state should be, and the author's attempt to get people to rally around this belief that "I don't owe my society anything, but yet it owes me food, water, shelter, etc." is exactly in line with my dislike for this book.
Thankfully, the pity party ended after 240 pages and the final 10% of the book (2 chapters) was focused on solutions. However, even these I found to be incredibly abstract and high-level. Of course, everyone is going to be different, but I am not sure that someone reading this book would have much of a clear sense of how to move forward and make their lives any better as a result of all of this newfound information they have just been given
In closing, it's interesting that after reading this book I went to my substack and saw these two posts which I believe give great additional colour to why I feel so strongly against this book. What people need to realize is that despite our starting points, the hands we have been given, etc., what we are currently striving to work towards in society is a place where everyone has the same opportunity for success. So let's get people motivated to take action and begin down that path, so they can change their lives for the better.
@sahilbloom:
Major life hack: Don't complain, ever. Nobody likes a complainer. They drain the energy of everyone around them. It's exhausting spending time around someone who constantly complains about things outside their control. If it’s within your control, go do something about it. If it’s not, you’re just wasting energy thinking about it. Complaining gives too much power to the thing. Take back that power.
@TimDenning:
Adopt the mindset that you can literally do anything you want in life and you will.
What's important, in my belief, as it comes to financial topics is how people are motivated to take action and actually change their lives. I suspect many people will get to the end of this book and feel great satisfaction in knowing that "someone finally GETS me!", whether that's because now they can point at Capitalism as the big bad wolf causing all of their problems, or the fact that the system in which we live is "rigged" so that they were starting from a different spot, or the wealthy elite of society are taking all the money and not paying their fair share of taxes. The book is incredibly biased and I will expand on a few examples below:
- The book states that the top 1% of people on this earth have more than double the wealth than the bottom 6.9 billion people. However, I would ask the author what her ideal state would be: should everyone have an equal net worth? Even if the top 1% were to have 10x less wealth, then they would claim that the top 1% (70 million people) has more wealth than the bottom one billion people and still try to garner just as much outrage.
- Pink tax is brought up as a claim that women are being forced to pay more for the same product. This has been thoroughly disproven: https://www.cato.org/commentary/pink-...
- Capitalism (rebranded gapitalism) is claimed to be this big, bad thing. However, it only became this big, bad thing 600 years ago - before that, it was all hunky-dory. My two issues here are: firstly, that nothing significant changed 600 years ago and the alleged issues with capitalism (which I do not believe are issues) have existed since the dawn of time; and secondly, that again, if we go back to my first and overarching critique of this book, all it does is complain. The author expresses her disdain for capitalism and then ends the chapter by saying, "I don't know what solution would be better - I just know this one has flaws".
- One chapter has this quote within, which really stuck with me: "Have you ever stopped to consider how strange it is that we have earn a living to pay for our lives?" The author presents this quotation as, I believe, yet another argument against capitalism. She follows it up by talking about how homeless people are punished for sleeping in public parks, and how our current society allows the "evil landlord" to charge another human for the ability to put a roof over his or her head. Again, I ask, what is the ideal state that the author would prefer? Should the government provide free housing to all individuals living within its society? With what money? Looking back to our earliest days on this earth, which the author does constantly (albeit with a yet again biased viewpoint): if there were 5 people on an island, they absolutely needed to earn a living if they wanted to stay alive. There would be a need to hunt for food, start and tend the fire, build shelter, etc. If one of those five people said "I'm just going to sit here and eat the food that you catch while contributing nothing to society", how long do you think that person would be able to exist on the island? I often find it quite helpful to look at things from many angles and to return to first principles when thinking about what the ideal state should be, and the author's attempt to get people to rally around this belief that "I don't owe my society anything, but yet it owes me food, water, shelter, etc." is exactly in line with my dislike for this book.
Thankfully, the pity party ended after 240 pages and the final 10% of the book (2 chapters) was focused on solutions. However, even these I found to be incredibly abstract and high-level. Of course, everyone is going to be different, but I am not sure that someone reading this book would have much of a clear sense of how to move forward and make their lives any better as a result of all of this newfound information they have just been given
In closing, it's interesting that after reading this book I went to my substack and saw these two posts which I believe give great additional colour to why I feel so strongly against this book. What people need to realize is that despite our starting points, the hands we have been given, etc., what we are currently striving to work towards in society is a place where everyone has the same opportunity for success. So let's get people motivated to take action and begin down that path, so they can change their lives for the better.
@sahilbloom:
Major life hack: Don't complain, ever. Nobody likes a complainer. They drain the energy of everyone around them. It's exhausting spending time around someone who constantly complains about things outside their control. If it’s within your control, go do something about it. If it’s not, you’re just wasting energy thinking about it. Complaining gives too much power to the thing. Take back that power.
@TimDenning:
Adopt the mindset that you can literally do anything you want in life and you will.
October 12, 2025
Research for Psych & Cultural awareness class for my MBA brought me here. As someone who has read extensively on psychology and trauma, I can honestly say it does a good job of weaving in those elements to explain people's money behavior. Some dives into more.... hyped terms and ideas propogated by many young people on social media were kinda cringe and distracting.... I do appreciate the perspective and im sure many would find it refreshing that these views were included
September 25, 2025
Whether we like it or not, money is unavoidable. My own relationship with it is layered and often marked by trauma — sometimes capital T, sometimes lowercase t, as Chantel so thoughtfully describes.
I had heard of “fawning” as a trauma response before, but I had never connected the dots to “financial fawning.” Realizing that this pattern has shaped how I respond in moments of financial stress was eye-opening and deeply validating.
As a mother of a child with ADHD, I was especially grateful for the inclusivity and awareness woven throughout this book. It felt like every page acknowledged experiences and perspectives that often go unspoken.
This is not just a book about money — it’s a book about humanity, healing, and the ways we show up for ourselves and each other. Truly, a book for everyone.
I had heard of “fawning” as a trauma response before, but I had never connected the dots to “financial fawning.” Realizing that this pattern has shaped how I respond in moments of financial stress was eye-opening and deeply validating.
As a mother of a child with ADHD, I was especially grateful for the inclusivity and awareness woven throughout this book. It felt like every page acknowledged experiences and perspectives that often go unspoken.
This is not just a book about money — it’s a book about humanity, healing, and the ways we show up for ourselves and each other. Truly, a book for everyone.
June 9, 2026
don't understand some of the negative reviews for this book, to be honest. It absolutely delivered on what it promised. The book covers a massive scope of knowledge, beautifully connecting concepts that people usually miss. By pairing real-life examples with deep insights and unique perspectives, it offers actionable, real-world solutions backed by solid research.
The author doesn't claim to have a perfect solution; instead, she orientates us toward complex issues with a sense of compassion and a grounding that is incredibly rare in the financial world. As a therapist—and simply for myself—I thoroughly enjoyed the read and walked away having learned a few new things.
The author doesn't claim to have a perfect solution; instead, she orientates us toward complex issues with a sense of compassion and a grounding that is incredibly rare in the financial world. As a therapist—and simply for myself—I thoroughly enjoyed the read and walked away having learned a few new things.
July 10, 2026
I'm rounding up to four stars based on the quality and helpfulness of the information in the book, not that it was an actual entertaining or easy book to read, I struggled to finish it but am glad I did. The target audience is people who she wants to get certified as practitioners in her program, not the average person. I think her work extending the effects of trauma further into people's financial lives and relationships with money was helpful and relatable.
March 14, 2026
I tried twice to get through this book and failed both times (and I rarely give up on a book). The writing is terrible and the structure is confusing and repetitive. It’s a slog. A strong copy editor would help… but made me wonder how it got published in this state to begin with?
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews