No more rehearsals! Women's health

Words by Jamie Jansen

Menopause affects over half the population, yet it’s still rarely talked about, and even less understood. Hormones shape everything from mood to energy and relationships, but too often, women are left to navigate it all alone.

In regional areas, access to specialist advice is even more limited. That’s why on November 9, something genuinely empowering is happening at the Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort in Port Douglas.

A full-day workshop, dubbed “No More Rehearsals” focused on women’s health, sleep, empowerment and menopause resilience will bring honest conversations, practical tools, and science-backed information to the Far North, no fluff, just real support.

Leading the day is Jacqueline Pascarl OAM, known to many Australians and international audiences as a bestselling author, TV presenter, filmmaker, and humanitarian rights advocate. Today, she helps women around the world manage menopause symptoms through practical, achievable lifestyle and nutrition changes.

In Port Douglas, she’ll be joined by a panel of world-renowned experts, all dedicated to helping women in regional Queensland better understand their bodies and move through perimenopause and menopause with clarity, strength, and confidence.

Among the participants is local fitness coach Amy from LiftHer, a familiar face in the community, with whom Jacqueline will discuss osteoporosis prevention and how strength training can protect bone health, an essential yet often overlooked part of women’s long-term wellness.

To understand why Jacqueline is the ideal person to lead this event, we need to look at the extraordinary path that brought her here, a journey marked by remarkable resilience in the face of profound adversity, which has inspired many along the way.

Remarkably, Jacqueline is a former royal who walked away from a life of privilege to pursue humanitarian work, often in some of the world’s most challenging war and disaster zones.

At just 17, she married the grandson of the King of Malaysia and had two children. But the fairy-tale quickly unraveled into a life of abuse and control. After escaping at the age of 22, her former husband later kidnapped her two eldest children and kept them incommunicado for 15 years.

She shared her story in two bestselling memoirs; Yasmin: Once I Was a Princess, and Since I Was a Princess, written to help her children understand the truth of their past and her humanitarian work.

But Jacqueline didn’t let trauma define her. Instead, she channelled her experience into a global career in advocacy, fighting for the rights of children and women worldwide.

She completed two Master’s degrees, plus a PhD and became a global presence and authority in advocacy, refugee assistance, women’s health and child literacy. She’s worked in very different scenarios and locations, from Maasai tribes in Kenya to Westminster, advising the Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, the US State Department, along with our own government in Canberra. 

Along the way, she became the Vice Chairperson of the Australian Defence Force Reserves and advocates on veterans’ issues to this day. 

Her efforts have earned her the prestigious Order of Australia, six nominations for Australian of the Year, and the distinction of being the first woman to receive the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal, awarded to her seven times.

She also received the Queensland Disaster Hero Medal after her charity, Operation Angel, delivered over $20 million in aid following Cyclone Yasi, including thousands of Blundstone boots, many of which she personally helped deliver.

One thing’s certain; when she turns her head towards an issue, something big will happen, sheer willpower is her raison d’etre. It’s her trademark, and now that same drive is focused on empowering women through menopause, especially in rural and regional areas.

With her credentials in menopause health and sleep support, a chance encounter with a local woman in Port Douglas - who opened up about her health struggles - prompted her to take action for women in regional Australia, where specialist care is often hours away. 

That 45-minute chat sparked the idea for the women’s health workshop in our town.
Jacqueline brings more than expertise, she brings lived experience. She has survived breast and ovarian cancer, endured stillbirth, navigated surgical menopause, and balanced life as a mother of four with a demanding career.
“Perimenopause can begin 10-12 years before menopause, sometimes as early as your mid-30s,” says Jacqueline. “This is when women need the most support, a toolkit and roadmap on what to expect and how to cope.”  

She adds, “Your 30s are the time to start building strength, bone health, mental wellness, all of it affects how we live in our 60s and beyond. It's vital to our work, relationships, even our love life.”

Port Douglas, which Jacqueline calls her “haven in paradise,” is where she resets each year, and now, she says, it’s time to give something back.

Part of the proceeds from the event will go to the Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia, where Jacqueline once worked repairing childbirth injuries in women.

This isn’t your typical wellness event, it’s practical, powerful, and led by someone who speaks from the heart.

To learn more about the workshop in Port Douglas on 9 November 2025, click here.