This article examines the case of an adult reader who has developed literacy practices that represent a wide range of authentic, personally and professionally motivated purposes for reading and writing. Despite this wide range of literacy practices, however, and despite the opportunities they have opened for him, Joseph (his chosen pseudonym) continues to represent himself as illiterate because he struggled with reading comprehension when he was a student. I use this case study as a lens for exploring how defining literacy in terms of formal school-based literacy practices limits how adults can see themselves in terms of competency. We can better take account of the critical thinking and problem-solving that adults regularly engage in by recognizing lifespan literacy practices.