For most of my life, I thought shame was something I caused. A moral failing. A personal flaw. A reflection of who I was at my core.

Some children grow up with a name. Others grow up with a name and an asterisk—a quiet footnote that shapes identity, belonging, and self-worth. This Step 2 entry explores how the “asterisk child” learns to overexplain and how healing begins when you reclaim the whole story.