Mac N. Turnage was on the faculty of Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia, and was the Minister of Pastoral Care at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston, Texas. He and his wife, Anne Turnage, coauthored More Than You Dare to Ask: The First Year of Living with Cancer and Grace Keeps You Going: Spiritual Wisdom from Cancer Survivors.
Anne Shaw Turnage was diagnosed with colon cancer in the early 1970s and given only a small chance of surviving. Since then she has founded CanCare, an organization of more than seven hundred volunteer cancer survivors who offer companionship, support, and hope to others coping with the disease.