This article revisits a phenomenological case study in which I used metaphor to explore, over a seven-year span, the blossoming and wilting of an early childhood teacher's career due to the complex interplay between a range of personal, relational and contextual influences (Sumsion 2002). Following Kamler (2001), I now bring a critical lens to my rereading of Sarah's metaphors as cultural texts that reflect the cultural storylines, positionings and practices that Sarah perceived were available to her. I argue that deconstructing these cultural texts draws attention to the limitations of discourses commonly available to preservice and early career teachers. Implications for teacher educators are discussed. (Contains 7 figures.)