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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.
About the author
Penny Hawkins Smith is a nationally certified hospice nurse with twenty years of experience. She has cared for thousands of dying people and is a passionate advocate for high-quality end-of-life care. 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.
