Exposing Financial Abuse: When Money Is a Weapon

Exposing Financial Abuse: When Money is a Weapon is an exposé of financial exploitation and abuse that occurs within families, romantic partners, the family law courts, friend groups, and places of worship.

Within the pages of Exposing Financial Abuse: When Money Is a Weapon, you are given the rare opportunity to hear the personal stories of individuals - in their own words - whose lives have been upended by financial exploitation and abuse perpetrated by someone close to them. Being given an intimate and unfiltered look into this hidden world is a unique gift that cannot be taken lightly or without honor for those who have chosen to allow us to experience some of their most personal pain and then their restoration journey.

Test yourself. How would you describe financial abuse? It is quietly happening all around us and is hidden within our neighborhoods and communities. You probably know someone who lives within a financially abusive household, and you don't even know it.

What is financial abuse? Has your spouse or parent taken out lines of credit in your name without your consent? Does your ex-spouse suddenly stop paying child support as a means of furthering their abuse and control over your life? Has your partner moved money from your joint account to a secret individual account without your prior knowledge or consent? Do your parents use financial gifts as an open door to demand future compliance on your part? Are you blamed for creating financial stress but are not the one who overspends? Did your ex-spouse hide his or her income from being included in the calculations for child and/or spousal support? Have your religious leaders said that you must give to the church first, even if that means you cannot provide for your household's basic needs? Do you carry the full burden of making enough money for your household because your partner refuses to maintain steady employment?

Shannon Thomas, LCSW is the international bestselling author of Healing from Hidden Abuse: A Journey Through the Stages of Recovery from Psychological Abuse and Exposing Financial Abuse: When Money is a Weapon, and the owner/lead therapist of an award-winning counseling practice in Southlake, TX.  As a leading therapist, Thomas is one of the few in the field to bridge the gap between pop culture and clinical advice.

Thomas has been featured in top media outlets including The Oprah Magazine, Associated Press, Business Insider, Reader's Digest, Yahoo!, Yahoo! Finance, Teen Vogue, Elite Daily, and Bustle. Her first book, Healing from Hidden Abuse, is an international bestseller and serves as a roadmap for book studies and host groups in ten countries and 43 states across the United States. Thomas also coined the "Six Stages of Healing" model, which has been met with favorable reviews and high applause from readers and medical professionals across the world.