Third, I synthesize current neurobiological studies of posttraumatic stress disorder pertinent to the argument against memoir writing, which suggest that memoir writing subjects first-year college students to unwarranted vulnerability to being re-traumatized or shamed. Then I return to Freire’s concept of “critical consciousness” to argue for a type of writing better suited for students in first-year composition. In writing for critical consciousness, instead of positioning their personal experiences as the subject for analysis, students should draw upon their lived experiences as one type of evidence to enhance the strength of their analysis and authority. In addition, based on research included in this essay, I suggest a literacy program that may assist in the development of critical consciousness among clients of community education programs, such as those at the Center for Nonviolence, with reduced risks for reactivating symptoms of posttraumatic distress. My rhetorical goal here is to demonstrate that even though certain literacy practices can indeed harm the very students activist compositionists hope to assist, by attending to empirically based research, compositionists can revise their teaching practices and writing assignments so they might actually help students living with the legacy of trauma achieve their literacy goals.