My Name Is Toxic Shame

by Leo Booth & John Bradshaw

I was there at your conception

In the epinephrine of your mother’s shame

You felt me in the fluid of your mother’s womb

I came upon you before you could speak

Before you understood

Before you had any way of knowing

I came upon you when you were learning to walk

When you were unprotected and exposed

When you were vulnerable and needy

Before you had any boundaries

My name is Toxic Shame

I came upon you when you were magical

Before you could know I was there

I severed your soul

I pierced you to the core