After years as a missionary in Nigeria and then as a geriatrician in Merseyside, Anne Merriman developed an understanding of palliative and terminal care and took it to relieve cancer sufferers, first in Singapore then in Uganda. The 'audacity' of the title describes her struggles with officialdom before winning approval, forst for recognition of this different form of care, and then so that trained hospice team members could prescribe oral morphine in the home.