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Melanie Cooks

Melanie Cooks

Melanie Cookes is the founder of The Practical Doula, an end-of-life doula business based in Melbourne, Australia, supporting individuals and families with compassionate end-of-life planning and care.

Aug 28, 2026

1:50
Can you share how your experiences have shaped your perspective and ultimately led you to create the Practical Doula business?
1:57
Yeah, okay.
1:58
So my journey started with the death of my father in 2012.
2:04
2012 after quite a sudden short illness.
2:07
And when I went to visit him, I noticed that people were sort of talking around him, talking over him.
2:14
So I figured that people needed somebody to speak for them sometimes if they didn't feel confident to speak for themselves.
2:20
And what I also noticed was that I was very comfortable just sitting in silence with my dad at that time, whereas what I was noticing was most people were talking constantly and And I think that came from a place of discomfort, like most people were uncomfortable around somebody who was nearing the end of their life.
6:02
What does a typical client journey look like and how do you help families bring meaning and clarity to such an emotional time in their lives? Yes, so

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