This article highlights important and enduring contributions of the text to the development of action research, while also pointing to the need for attention to theories informed by a politics of difference. The re-examination of "Becoming Critical" (Carr & Kemmis, 1983) is set against the backdrop of rereading Doris Lessing's "The Golden Notebook" (1962). Rereading works after a lengthy period of time highlights issues of identity and context for the writer and (re)reader. While the silence of the text over issues of identity is an important omission, the article emphasizes the importance of the text to issues of teacher professionalism in a contemporary context of worsening social inequality and regulation of research.