Character Literacy

Character literacy is a framework developed by Narcissistic Abuse Rehab founder Manya Wakefield in her trauma recovery coaching practice. It describes the capacity to read who a person actually is — through their behavior over time, across contexts, and particularly in situations where they have something to lose or gain — rather than responding only to who they are performing being. Character literacy is the alternative to red flag culture: where red flag identification focuses on isolated signals that skilled manipulators can manage around, character literacy focuses on patterns observed over time that are harder to consistently perform and conceal. Core dimensions of character literacy include observing how a person responds when they do not get what they want; how they treat people who can do nothing for them; how they speak about those who have helped them; and their relationship with accountability. Developing character literacy is one of the primary protective outcomes of recovery from love bombing and narcissistic abuse.