Influencing Death
Reframing Dying for Better Living
by Penny Hawkins Smith, RN
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Pub Date Jan 14 2025 | Archive Date Jan 13 2025
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Description
A hospice nurse’s unflinching look at life, death, and redemption.
Death is undeniable and unavoidable. We must accept it; there is no other choice. But coming to terms with our mortality can profoundly influence how we live—and how we die. Having been a hospice nurse for decades, Penny Hawkins Smith is an expert on death and dying. As a recovering alcoholic and former drug addict, she knows what it means to change course and become a meaningful contributor to society. Through her work with death, Penny found her purpose in life.
In Influencing Death, Penny brings transparency and levity to the grim topic of death while revealing truths about the reckless past that influenced her decision to become a hospice nurse. Using down-to-earth, compassionate storytelling, she transports readers into the room with dying people and their families, laying bare the raw and real human emotions and behaviors people have when life and death are hanging in the balance.
Weaving together dual narratives of death and life, Penny challenges us to see how embracing our own mortality—and the mortality of the people we love—can help us live more fully and approach the end of life with greater acceptance, grace, and peace.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Penny Hawkins Smith is a nationally certified hospice nurse with twenty years of experience. Over two million people follow her on social media, where she uses storytelling, dark humor, and dance trends to normalize death and the dying process. She also shares her own inspirational stories of overcoming a tumultuous past.
Penny lives in Washington State with her husband, along with her cattle dog, Kevin, and Pam the cat. She works virtually as a hospice quality nurse from her off-the-grid cabin on a mountain with a retirement plan in the works.
Advance Praise
“This memoir is an extraordinary blend of humor, heartfelt storytelling, and valuable insights. Penny’s wit and engaging style make even the most challenging moments feel accessible, while the touching anecdotes offer a deep understanding of end-of-life care. It's not only an enjoyable read but also an educational one that guides the reader to look at their own mortality without dreading it.” —Julie McFadden, RN, New York Times bestselling author of Nothing to Fear
“Influencing Death is a brutally honest book about living and dying. Hospice Nurse Penny exposes what happens at the end of life with her straight-shooting and entertaining style. Penny tells it all, including the pain points of her own life story. With a huge dose of courage, Penny reminds us that patients . . . and hospice nurses are people first and foremost.” —Sammy Winemaker, palliative care physician, author of Hope for the Best, Plan for the Rest
“Influencing Death turns a universally challenging topic—death—into an easy read. Demystifying death by sharing her life, Penny’s humor, joy, and authenticity will evoke laughter, tears, and essential conversations among loved ones everywhere.” —Jennifer A. O'Brien, MSOD, award-winning author of The Hospice Doctor’s Widow and Care Boss
“A moving account of how a hospice nurse arrived at TikTok fame, . . . Influencing Death is about personal transformation and working to demystify the inevitability of death.” —Foreword Clarion Reviews
Marketing Plan
Targeted outreach to author's community through website, newsletter, and social media (@hospicenursepenny, 2M+ followers)
Digital galley distribution on NetGalley
Ingram Reviews Program
eBook Discount Program
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781959411963 |
| PRICE | $18.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 226 |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Jessica P, Reviewer
You could say Penny Hawkins Smith is an expert in the art of dying, a hospice nurse by trade, she also talks about death on TikTok. In influencing death, she talks about how she ended up choosing that career, her own experiences with being way too close to death, and how treating her patients changed the way she looked at life and death.
I agree so much with the main point made in the book, in our societies (she’s in the US but it’s similar in my country) we don’t like to talk about death, we tend to use euphemisms and doctors don’t feel like they can be honest with their patients. How do you tell them that this is the end for them? That they have to get ready to permanently leave? Once you get into a hospice, it’s usually to live the rest of your life with the least pain possible. But the idea makes most people uncomfortable so we don’t really say the words.
I think that the more we talk about it, the better choices we may make when facing that situation. Especially for people who are really young and obviously not ready for that.
I also really liked the discussion on MAiD and choosing the way to end your life. I live in a country where palliative care is absolutely plagued by the overwhelming presence of very catholic people who really like to impose their beliefs on everyone ; so I’m not used to read about hospice workers being in favour of death with dignity measures. Friendly reminder (to the people who like to impose their beliefs) that we’re talking about people who are going to die short term. There’s no good reason to not let have some agency over that situation. There’s a lot of talk about that in the book too. Dying people are still people who should be able to make some choices.
So overall a really good read, I thought I knew everything there is to know about the topic but I was wrong. This was also written with so much compassion for the patients and their families, I really appreciated that.
