Graduate studies and particularly doctoral work are often described as extremely challenging and demanding. Graduate students experience lofty academic demands, high levels of stress and anxiety and conflicts between various responsibilities. Through the self-examination of the experience of four doctoral students and a professor, this paper analyzes common challenges of graduate studies and presents the development and function of peer mentoring and peer support group aiming to guide the students and their mentor through the perilous passage of doctoral work. The student-led group we established served as a multi-functional mechanism offering members support in participating in the academic community by helping them acquire the discourse and social skills necessary for joining the grant conversations of their discipline. Also, the members were supported in teaching undergraduate courses, in dealing with the practical aspects of being graduate students, and in improving the quality and the genre range of their writing. Finally, the group provided members with essential emotional support. (Contains 2 notes.)