But Bowral's Patsy Bingham is one of a growing number of end-of-life doulas, people who support a dying person and their loved ones by taking care of practical tasks and opening conversations about the whole process.

And she wants to start a conversation with you. About death.

"Medical technology has enabled people to slowly but surely back away from the death concept," said Ms Bingham.

"So families have to scramble when something happens, at a time when they are already challenged by emotions and grief.

"It means that questions that could have been asked in normal comfortable circumstances are asked when everyone is in shock or dealing with pain."

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To get that conversation ball rolling, she will be holding a monthly Death Cafe in Bowral, starting Friday, March 26.

Death Cafes are a concept that has crept around the world in the last 10 years, with the goal of normalising conversations about death.

"A Death Cafe is a group-directed discussion of death with no agenda, objectives or themes," said Ms Bingham.

"It is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counselling session."

Along with tea, coffee and cake, Ms Bingham wants to get people to open up about the elephant in the room.

"People don't like to talk about it...but it's going to happen - wouldn't you rather be prepared?" she said.

"It takes some of the anxiety out if you already know the process, and also removes any uncertainty and disagreement among family members.

"They don't need to wonder whether they're doing everything the way you'd want, as well as dealing with all the sadness and grief they're experiencing.

"It means you can get on with living instead of fearing what's ahead."

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Ms Bingham was inspired to become an end-of-life doula only last year, following the death of her father in New Zealand.

Being of Maori heritage, her family followed the custom of keeping the body in the house with them for two days after his death, allowing them all to grieve together and share in the after-death practices, such as washing and dressing his body for burial.

"Spending time with the body can be very much a part of the acceptance process," said Ms Bingham.

"The after-death care - bathing him, dressing him, talking to him, reliving stories - becomes a beautiful experience.

"If you don't do it, a stranger will, but I don't think anyone can do it as much as someone who loved that person with all their heart.

"We shed a lot of tears, there was a lot of hugging."

Upon her return to Bowral, she relayed the story to her friends, who all spoke longingly of being able to have such a farewell for their own loved ones.

"One friend got a call that a family member died, and by the time she got there, the mortuary assistant wheeling was them out to car," said Ms Bingham.

"There was no chance to say goodbye and process it.

"The way it went with Dad is a much gentler way to get your head around the fact that that person's no longer walking the earth."

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What most people don't realise, added Ms Bingham, is that there's plenty of freedom to manage your loved ones death the way you want.

"People don't want to talk about it, so they don't understand the rules around it," she said, pointing out that in NSW, the family can keep the body at home for up to five days after death, as long as it is kept cool enough.

Previous to her doula training, Ms Bingham had worked in corporate events for 20 years, and had been looking for a change.

"For a number of years I'd been wanting to move out of that area, and after what happened with Dad I felt called to do this," she said.

"We were all at Dad's bedside when he took his last breath. That's all he wanted - for us to be there.

"I'm so glad I was able to do that, to show him how much we loved him, and I want to enable that for others."