When Anne Townsend hit rock bottom and tried to take her own life, it proved a turning point in her life, as she had to cast away second hand notions of God and other people's expectations of her Christian life. Although God seemed far away, understanding and support came from an unexpected source, helping her to face up to buried problems and hurts, bringing her to a new and deeper relationship with a God far bigger than she had previously known. For many years a medical missionary in Thailand, Dr Anne Townsend became the editor of "Family" magazine (now "Christian Family") and then director of Care Trust, the evangelical social concern and action agency. Now ordained as an Anglican deacon, she works as a Chaplain's Assistant in a London teaching hospital.