diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index d0286f4..584d471 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "@hashicorp/remark-plugins",
-  "version": "4.0.0",
+  "version": "4.0.0-canary.0",
   "lockfileVersion": 2,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "@hashicorp/remark-plugins",
-      "version": "3.2.1",
+      "version": "4.0.0",
       "license": "MPL-2.0",
       "dependencies": {
         "@mdx-js/util": "1.6.22",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 25afa07..755e358 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "@hashicorp/remark-plugins",
   "description": "A potpourri of remark plugins used to process .mdx files",
-  "version": "4.0.0",
+  "version": "4.0.0-canary.0",
   "author": "Jeff Escalante",
   "bugs": "https://github.com/hashicorp/remark-plugins/issues",
   "contributors": [
diff --git a/plugins/anchor-links/index.js b/plugins/anchor-links/index.js
index 63865de..243073f 100644
--- a/plugins/anchor-links/index.js
+++ b/plugins/anchor-links/index.js
@@ -53,7 +53,6 @@ function processHeading(node, compatibilitySlug, links, headings) {
   const text = stringifyChildNodes(node)
   const level = node.depth
   const title = text
-    .substring(level + 1)
     .replace(/<\/?[^>]*>/g, '') // Strip html
     .replace(/\(\(#.*?\)\)/g, '') // Strip anchor link aliases
     .replace(/»/g, '') // Safeguard against double-running this plugin
@@ -292,14 +291,25 @@ function aliasesToNodes(aliases, id) {
 // not a type that standard remark recognizes. we can't accommodate all
 // types of custom remark setups, so we simply fall back if it doesn't work
 function stringifyChildNodes(node) {
-  let text
-  try {
-    text = remark().use(stringify).stringify(node)
-  } catch (_) {
-    text = node.children.reduce((m, s) => {
-      if (s.value) m += s.value
-      return m
-    }, '')
-  }
+  return getChildNodesText(node)
+}
+
+/**
+ * Collect text from children nodes. This will visit
+ * nodes recursively via "depth-first" strategy.
+ *
+ * @param {import('unist').Parent | import('unist').Node} node
+ * @returns {string}
+ */
+function getChildNodesText(node) {
+  const text = node.children.reduce((acc, child) => {
+    if ('children' in child) {
+      acc += getChildNodesText(child)
+    } else if ('value' in child) {
+      acc += child.value
+    }
+    return acc
+  }, '')
+
   return text
 }
diff --git a/plugins/anchor-links/index.test.js b/plugins/anchor-links/index.test.js
index 87560c4..b4c9c5e 100644
--- a/plugins/anchor-links/index.test.js
+++ b/plugins/anchor-links/index.test.js
@@ -459,6 +459,25 @@ describe('anchor-links', () => {
       ]
       `)
     })
+
+    test('returns only text content', () => {
+      const headings = []
+      execute(
+        `## context.Context
+## \*component.Source
+## ~~strikethrough~~
+## _italic_
+## [complex](https://hashicorp.com) heading **element**`,
+        { headings }
+      )
+
+      expect(headings.length).toBe(5)
+
+      expect(headings[1].title).toEqual('*component.Source')
+      expect(headings[2].title).toEqual('strikethrough')
+      expect(headings[3].title).toEqual('italic')
+      expect(headings[4].title).toEqual('complex heading element')
+    })
   })
 
   describe('lists starting with inline code', () => {