Many teachers and administrators are caught between opposing forces in education. Often, they're forced into compliance with scientifically based reading research (SBRR) requiring methods and materials that run counter to their own beliefs. Or, teachers are forced to eliminate reading methods that their own experience has shown to be effective. This is particularly true in the case of Sustained Silent Reading (SSR). There is considerable confusion and division in the profession surrounding federal research and what that research has determined about the role independent reading should play in classrooms. This article will help teachers resolve that tension by clarifying the federal research findings, separating data from opinion, and offering variations on "pure" SSR so teachers can develop their teaching practices using sound research and their own professional autonomy. When the research facts are unraveled from misinterpretations and opinion, we find that SSR is not only intuitively appealing but also is supported by research.