This chapter will turn to a sampling of saints from the fourth century who sought to carve out a life of holiness for themselves in the most inhospitable of environments — the deserts of Arabia, Egypt, Syria, and Palestine. At first in small numbers, and then in increasingly larger ones, the desert fathers and mothers left the familiar behind in order to grow and be transformed. This chapter will explore some of the questions surrounding a “desert vocation,” as well as offering a glimpse of the human lives behind these heroic decisions.