top of page

New Book Empowers Women in Midlife to Release Money Shame and Reclaim Inner Steadiness

Nov 3, 2025
2 min read

Penguin, Tasmania – November 1, 2025 – From her tranquil coastal practice in Penguin, Integrative Therapist and Accredited Social Worker Sonia Skewes announces the release of her new softcover book, Who ever said... “It’s just Money, Honey?” is now available on Amazon.


White dog in sunglasses sits on red fabric with money. Text: "It's Just Money, Honey?" by Sonia Skewes. Themes of growth, women, self-worth.

This deeply personal and practical guide invites women in midlife to move beyond financial anxiety and self-blame, and toward a renewed sense of worthiness, inner steadiness, and self-trust.


Rooted in compassion and lived experience, Skewes’s work reframes money challenges not as matters of budgeting or willpower, but as reflections of emotional inheritance, survival patterns, and intergenerational stories that quietly shape how women relate to earning, receiving, and holding money.


“For many women, money is not just a transaction, it’s a mirror,” Skewes reflects. “It reflects belonging, safety, and self-worth. When we begin to understand the emotional histories underneath, we free ourselves to create something new, not just financially, but in how we live and love.”


Through soothing reflection prompts, grounded insights, and gentle invitations for awareness, Who ever said... “It’s just Money, Honey?” helps readers to:


  • Recognise emotional and behavioural patterns around money

  • Understand how stress and survival responses influence financial choices

  • Identify inherited beliefs and internalised family roles

  • Cultivate a kinder relationship with self-worth and personal needs

 

This book is not about financial management. It’s a guide back to emotional clarity, nervous system repair, and self-trust, an exploration of where our money stories began, and how to lovingly rewrite them.


“My work is about holding sacred space and walking alongside people at the pace that feels safe enough for their body and story,” says Skewes. “Healing happens when safety returns to the system, and that’s where real change with money begins.”

 

About the Author


Sonia Skewes is an Integrative Trauma-Responsive Therapist, Accredited Social Worker, and Founder of In Penguin: the space to pause. Her work weaves together relational, body-based, and trauma-responsive approaches to support adults navigating trauma recovery, emotional stress, identity shifts, and life transitions.


Sonia’s approach is anchored in nervous system repair, sacred holding, and going at the pace that feels safe enough for the person. She offers one-to-one therapy and restorative intensives for individuals seeking steadiness, depth, and inner clarity.

 

Availability


Who ever said... “It’s just Money, Honey?” is now available in Softcover on Amazon.


  • Purchase here.

  • Launch Price: $25.14 AUD

  • Ebook and Hardcover editions will be released soon.

 

Media & collaboration


Sonia welcomes invitations for interviews, podcast conversations, and collaborations centered on trauma-aware wellbeing, nervous system regulation, money healing, and the restoration of self-trust.


Location: Penguin, Tasmania, Australia

This article is published in collaboration with Brainz Magazine’s network of global experts, carefully selected to share real, valuable insights.

Article Image

Why I Don’t Want My Sound Bath Students to Sound Like Me

If everyone who trained with me went away and created exactly the same sound baths I do, I’m not sure I would consider that a success. That might sound strange coming from someone who teaches practitioners.

Article Image

Why Self-Regulation Needs Friction, Not Just Willpower

We have spent the last two decades engineering friction out of everyday life. One-click purchasing. Autoplay. Instant replies expected within minutes. Every app on your phone has been designed by...

Article Image

Why Are Women So Exhausted? The Hidden Mental Load of Being Everything to Everyone

You can have a full night’s sleep and still wake up exhausted. Not because you didn’t sleep. Because your brain never really clocked out. You’re thinking about the meeting at 10, the groceries you...

Article Image

Breast Cancer and the Nurturer’s Paradox and When Being Needed Becomes an Identity

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and much of the conversation quite rightly centres on screening, diagnosis, treatment and survival. I want to take the conversation somewhere less commonly...

Article Image

Acupuncture for Car Accident Injuries, an Important Non-Surgical Treatment

Motor vehicle collisions often leave people with more than bruises. Even when scans show no fracture that needs surgery, many patients develop whiplash-associated disorder (WAD), neck and low-back...

Article Image

3 Lessons From My 60-Year-Old Client That Many Fitness Programmes Ignore

In a recent session with one of my clients, she told me her smart scale showed that, since we began training together, she’s lost 3lb of fat but gained 4lb of muscle. For someone in her 60s, this is...

Why I Don’t Want My Sound Bath Students to Sound Like Me

Why Self-Regulation Needs Friction, Not Just Willpower

Why Are Women So Exhausted? The Hidden Mental Load of Being Everything to Everyone

Breast Cancer and the Nurturer’s Paradox and When Being Needed Becomes an Identity

Acupuncture for Car Accident Injuries, an Important Non-Surgical Treatment

3 Lessons From My 60-Year-Old Client That Many Fitness Programmes Ignore

5 Essential Steps for Leadership Growth

Why Leadership Decisions Can End Before the Pressure Does

How to Own the Room Before You Say a Single Word

bottom of page