Founder Story - near death to death-tech
In 2003, at 25, I was living in Rome when I had a spontaneous stroke — a blockage in my carotid artery that came without warning, in a country that wasn't yet fully home.
I came back to Sydney to rebuild: my health, my career, and eventually my life with my husband Ian.
The years that followed weren't easy either. A blood clotting condition made building our family enormously difficult, and we carried that loss quietly for a long time. We found our footing again — six good years living and working in Melbourne — and I thought the hardest chapters were behind me.
Then in 2021, everything changed again. What started as one hospital admission became three, over several months, ending in an induced coma. While I was unconscious, I had a vivid, detailed dream — I was attending my own funeral. When I woke and began the long road back, I couldn't shake it. I started thinking about what actually gets remembered, and what gets lost — the small things, the real things, the parts of a life that a printed order of service never quite captures.
The Funeral Book is what I built from that. It's my third rebuild — proof, to myself as much as anyone, that a life interrupted can still become something new. I wanted to create something that holds the photos, the poem, the music, the voice notes and video, the stories people actually want to keep — not because grief needs to be tidy, but because the people we love deserve better than what gets lost.
Our Approach - where technology meets humanity
Everything I've been through — Rome, the years of loss, 2021 — clarified what matters. In those moments of vulnerability, I learned that the most meaningful tributes aren't about perfection. They're about presence, authenticity, and creating space for what truly honours a life.
That's why The Funeral Book exists.
Our Team - a team of one (for now)
I'm building The Funeral Book solo, and that's intentional — another rebuild, done my way. The death industry might be new territory for me, but understanding what people need and how to reach them isn't. After 20+ years in advertising, media, and not-for-profit marketing, I've learned that the best solutions come from deep focus and genuine care — not committees.