Introduction

We introduce this co-edited book on mentoring at a timely inflection point in our academic careers as qualitative methodologists. In the language of the American academy, Kelly is a recently tenured associate professor and Jenni is a tenured associate professor, eyeing the path to full professorship. Despite the growing years between our own doctoral studies and our current positionings in the academy, we still think of ourselves as much mentors as mentees, as much mentored as we are mentoring. If we can make any claims to success in our academic careers, any assertions that we have the necessary expertise to co-edit this text, it is because of the mentoring relationships that support(ed) and sustain(ed) us. But rather than foundationally and hierarchically “standing on the shoulders of Giants,” we approach mentoring as relational and multidirectional, happening (and happenstance) within and between a myriad of bodies. Because there are only so many Giants, and not all make good mentors. Also, because it can really hurt when someone stands on your shoulders.