
Influencing Death
Reframing Dying for Better Living
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Narrated by:
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Penny Hawkins Smith RN
About this listen
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 listeners 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.
©2025 Penny Hawkins Smith (P)2025 Dreamscape MediaListeners also enjoyed...
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In her highly-anticipated nonfiction debut, humorist, popular blogger, and USA Today best-selling author Susannah B. Lewis (Whoa! Susannah) uses dry wit and an eye for the absurd to find laughter in even the most challenging circumstances. Millions of online fans have flocked to Susannah B. Lewis's hysterical, take-no-prisoners videos that capture her uproarious yet deeply faithful view of the world. Now she brings to book form her keen eye for the absurd as she reveals her experiences growing up in a small Tennessee town.
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You can’t make this stuff up!
- By Brooke Sullivan on 04-26-19
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The Survivors
- A Story of War, Inheritance, and Healing
- By: Adam Frankel
- Narrated by: Adam Frankel, Rob Shapiro
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Adam Frankel’s maternal grandparents survived the Holocaust and built new lives, with new names, in Connecticut. Though they tried to leave the horrors of their past behind, the pain they suffered crossed generational lines - a fact most apparent in the mental health of Adam’s mother. When Adam sat down with her to examine their family history in detail, he learned another shocking secret, this time one that unraveled Adam’s entire understanding of who he is.
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Amazing story
- By Alissa on 12-26-19
By: Adam Frankel
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The Other Family Doctor
- A Veterinarian Explores What Animals Can Teach Us About Love, Life, and Mortality
- By: Karen Fine
- Narrated by: Karen Fine
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Karen Fine always knew that she wanted to be a vet and wasn't going to let anything stop her: not her allergy to cats, and not the fact that in the '80s veterinary medicine was still a mostly male profession. Inspired by her grandfather, a compassionate doctor who paid house calls to all his (human) patients, Dr. Fine persevered, and brought her Oupa's principles into her own practice, which emphasizes the need to understand her patients’ stories to provide the best possible care.
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Average
- By Glen I. on 04-02-23
By: Karen Fine
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The Glutathione Revolution
- Fight Disease, Slow Aging, and Increase Energy with the Master Antioxidant
- By: Nayan Patel PharmD, Dr. Mark Hyman MD - foreword
- Narrated by: Gary Tiedemann
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Ward off life-threatening disease and symptoms of aging with this guide to boosting your levels of glutathione (GHS), the "master antioxidant".
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Excellent book on Glutathione!
- By AmazonCustomer on 03-06-21
By: Nayan Patel PharmD, and others
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The Unfit Heiress
- The Tragic Life and Scandalous Sterilization of Ann Cooper Hewitt
- By: Audrey Clare Farley
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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At the turn of the 20th century, American women began to reject Victorian propriety in favor of passion and livelihood outside the home. This alarmed authorities, who feared certain "over-sexed" women could destroy civilization if allowed to reproduce and pass on their defects. Set against this backdrop, The Unfit Heiress chronicles the fight for inheritance, both genetic and monetary, between Ann Cooper Hewitt and her mother, Maryon.
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Such an important story
- By TLH ~ 🎧 ~ on 05-08-21
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The Lost Art of Dying
- Reviving Forgotten Wisdom
- By: L.S. Dugdale
- Narrated by: Abby Craden
- Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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The Lost Art of Dying is filled with much-needed insight and thoughtful guidance that will change our perceptions. Dr. Dugdale offers a hopeful perspective on death and dying as she shows us how to adapt the wisdom from the past to our lives today. Part of living well means preparing for the end, Dr. Dugdale reminds us. By recovering our sense of finitude, confronting our fears, accepting how our bodies age, developing meaningful rituals, and involving our communities in end-of-life care, we can discover what it means to both live and die well.
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Powerful. Helpful.
- By ECWalter on 02-20-21
By: L.S. Dugdale
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Two Old Women
- An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage, and Survival
- By: Velma Wallis
- Narrated by: Megan Tooley
- Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Based on an Athabascan Indian legend passed along for many generations from mothers to daughters of the upper Yukon River Valley in Alaska, this is the suspenseful, shocking, ultimately inspirational tale of two old women abandoned by their tribe during a brutal winter famine.
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Another old woman’s thoughts.
- By Lonnie Prillaman on 01-11-25
By: Velma Wallis
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Sink
- A Memoir
- By: Joseph Earl Thomas
- Narrated by: Joseph Earl Thomas
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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"A brilliant and brilliantly different" (Kiese Laymon), wrenching and redemptive coming-of-age memoir about the difficulty of growing up in a hazardous home and the glory of finding salvation in geek culture.
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Great memoir
- By Jason on 02-26-23
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The Good Death
- A Guide for Supporting Your Loved One Through the End of Life
- By: Suzanne B. O’Brien RN
- Narrated by: Suzanne B. O’Brien RN
- Length: 7 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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For most of us, there is no harder life experience than caring for a loved one who is dying. Suzanne O'Brien realized this earlier than most during her her time working as a nurse in hospice care, often offered as a comforting alternative to a sterile hospital environment. But Suzanne saw the real financial and staffing limitation that came with hospice, and, realizing this option didn't provide all the answers, wanted to take it a step further, providing her patients and their families with the tools to approach the death of a loved one with grace, dignity, knowledge, and compassion.
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Helpful
- By Leslie on 05-11-25
Storytelling
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Emotional and thought-provoking
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It was such a bonus to discover she narrated the Audible version herself—her voice brings even more comfort and sincerity to the stories and insights she shares.
This book isn't just informative—it's deeply human. Penny brings grace to a topic so many shy away from, reminding us that death can be just as sacred and meaningful as birth. She offers a gentle, honest look at the dying process, and somehow makes space for both tears and healing.
If you're facing the loss of a loved one, working in end-of-life care, or just want to understand the process more fully, Influencing Death is a must-read. I love it, and I’m so grateful it found me when it did.
Awesome Read!
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Awesome Book!
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In “Influencing Death,” the stories about each patient are so synergistically intertwined with the stories about Penny’s human experience and is proof that past mistakes do not define you and it’s never too late to make a difference and change your life and the lives of those around you.
This is definitely a book I will be sharing with everyone. It will help you see the importance of celebrating life everyday while also encouraging the reader to have those important end of life conversations with your people – both about what you may want when the time comes and what they would want. “Influencing Death” is full of stories, insights and end of life education that integrate harmoniously and is mesmerizing, emotionally touching, insightful and the best book I’ve read in a very long time. Thank you for sharing your journey with us, Penny!
This book is like therapy 💗
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I’m so sad it’s over already
The lines about the toddler criminal and the perfume took me out with laughter but by no means is this a humorous book, very dark subject you do well explaining and comforting ❤️
Thank you for sharing your story and please do write again
Also be more gentle with yourself, your past does not get to dictate your future you don’t live there anymore
the work you do is truly “God sent” I think that’s why people compare your work to that of an angel
What a blessing it is to not have to die alone
And for people like you who bring us comfort while dealing with it
Umm PENNY!
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Real talk about hospice!
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Penny is awesome
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Wonderful
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Raw and Real
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