Fly!: A Woman's Guide to Financial Freedom and Building a Life You Love

An empowering, tools-based approach to help you achieve financial freedom and thrive for years to come, from the National Director of Women and Wealth at Northern Trust

Steph Wagner appeared to have it all—a beautiful family and a picture-perfect life—until her husband of nearly 20 years left their family for another woman. A stay-at-home mom, Steph found herself facing financial devastation and some heavy emotional baggage. Her enviable life concealed the secrets of a harrowing childhood fraught with domestic abuse—wounds her divorce would unexpectedly reopen.

In the years since, Steph has built a thrilling new life and a powerhouse career as a nationally recognized authority on women's economic security. A model of resiliency and resourcefulness, her riveting personal story and hard-earned financial expertise have helped women across the country reclaim their financial futures.

Her debut book, Fly! offers invaluable insights to help you:

• Uncover the roots of your relationship with money
• Evaluate your current financial landscape and learn how to make confident decisions around your wealth
• Set transformative goals and craft a comprehensive plan to turn your vision into reality
• Cultivate an empowering, supportive network
• Discover how financial independence can enhance your relationships and unlock exciting new opportunities

Whether you’re in your sixties or twenties—single, married, rebuilding after a devastating loss, or simply wanting to feel more prepared for the unexpected—this book is for every woman ready to take control of her financial life. Fly! is a call to action: a journey not just about money, but about seizing new opportunities, pursuing your dreams, and living life on your own terms.

Steph Wagner is a nationally recognized thought leader in women’s wealth and financial empowerment. Her passion for this work is deeply personal. Her own journey—from private equity executive to stay-at-home mom, to single mother facing financial uncertainty, to successful businesswoman—fuels her mission to help women take control of their wealth and build lives they love. Today, she serves as National Director of Women & Wealth at Northern Trust, where she leads the firm’s advisory practice for women and its Elevating Women platform—a national program focused on building financial confidence and helping women use their wealth to create meaningful impact in their families, businesses, and communities.

Prior to joining Northern Trust, Steph spent years advising high-net-worth women navigating major life transitions such as divorce and widowhood. She also built a national consulting practice for wealth management firms seeking to better serve female clients and founded WomenWealthyWise, a platform dedicated to advancing financial literacy and empowerment for women. Earlier in her career, she was Vice President at Gemini Investors, a Boston-based private equity firm. A frequent media contributor, Steph’s insights have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Entrepreneur, Barron’s, Bloomberg, MarketWatch, Kiplinger, Yahoo Finance, and more. Steph lives just outside of Austin, Texas, and is the proud mom of three grown sons. When she’s not working or writing, you’ll likely find her cycling, hiking, on her yoga mat, or chasing after her beloved dogs.