In our African tradition, it is believed that before a person steps into the forest alone, they should already be known in the village. Sr. Jacinta Auma Opondo, FSSA understands this very well, and at a time when the call to solitude seems to be whispered in our local Churches, she offers us an instruction that is both learned and compassionate. She brings to us the desert fathers with one hand and canon 603 with the other, and gently places them in the hands of the bishop, formator, or discerner who will walk the way. Her honesty is that of an elder, and she gently reminds us that the hermitage should never become a place of hiding, because no one withdraws from the world to escape themselves. The fact that it has come from an African woman religious and canonist, who has written about this from the soil of Africa, is an indication of what we can offer to the universal Church. I commend it strongly to bishops, vocation animators, formators, spiritual directors, those discerning their vocation to consecrated life, and anyone drawn to the desert who wants to test the call with integrity. It is not a guide to the rules of a cell; it is a lantern lit for someone on a journey, and a hand placed upon the shoulder, saying, “go”, but don’t go alone.