
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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Cheney flips mental illness inside out, exposing the visceral story of the struggles, stigma, relationship dilemmas, treatments, and recovery techniques she and others have encountered. Sometimes humorous, sometimes harrowing, Modern Madness is the ultimate owner's manual on mental illness, breaking this complex subject down into readily understandable concepts like instructions for use, troubleshooting, maintenance, and warranties.
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Sincerity, transparency, intelligence
- By Britt Gjeruldsen on 04-15-25
By: Terri Cheney
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What's Your Heaven?
- 7 Lessons to Heal the Past and Live Fully Now
- By: Rebecca Rosen
- Narrated by: Rebecca Rosen
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Born with extraordinary gifts, psychic medium Rebecca Rosen occupies an in-between place, serving as a bridge between two worlds—the physical world of everyday problems and the spiritual world where surprising assistance is there for each of us to access. As an intuitive, she can tap into a deeper source of wisdom, and over her decades of experience with this work, the biggest lesson is that each of us has a divine purpose, and it is our greatest responsibility to fulfill it.
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Thank you to my deceased relatives
- By Anonymous User on 11-01-23
By: Rebecca Rosen
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Life After Suicide
- Finding Courage, Comfort & Community After Unthinkable Loss
- By: Jennifer Ashton
- Narrated by: Jennifer Ashton
- Length: 7 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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In Life After Suicide, Jennifer Ashton opens up completely for the first time, hoping that her experience and words can inspire those faced with the unthinkable to persevere. Part memoir and part comforting guide that incorporates the latest insights from researchers and health professionals, Life After Suicide is both a call to arms against this dangerous, devastating epidemic, and an affecting story of personal grief and loss. In addition, Dr. Ashton includes stories from others who have survived the death of a loved one by their own hand.
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shameless self promotion
- By JC on 07-23-19
By: Jennifer Ashton
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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 Queens of Animation
- The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History
- By: Nathalia Holt
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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From Snow White to Moana, from Pinocchio to Frozen, the animated films of Walt Disney Studios have moved and entertained millions. But few fans know that behind these groundbreaking features was an incredibly influential group of women who fought for respect in an often ruthless male-dominated industry and who have slipped under the radar for decades.
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Buy this book!! Truly Inspiring and fascinating!
- By Ellen on 02-05-20
By: Nathalia Holt
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The Rescuer
- One Firefighter’s Story of Courage, Darkness, and the Relentless Love That Saved Him
- By: Jason Sautel, D.R. Jacobsen - contributor
- Narrated by: Mark Smeby
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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He helped save people every day - but he had no idea how to save himself. Jason Sautel had it all. Confident in his abilities and trusted by his fellow firefighters, he was making a name for himself on the streets of Oakland, California. His adrenaline-fueled job even helped him forget the pain of his childhood - until the day he looked into the eyes of a jumper on the Bay Bridge and came face-to-face with a darkness he knew would take him down as well.
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Real..... and good!
- By Anonymous User on 03-07-21
By: Jason Sautel, and others
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Murder Your Darlings
- And Other Gentle Writing Advice from Aristotle to Zinsser
- By: Roy Peter Clark
- Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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With so many excellent writing guides lining bookstore shelves, it can be hard to know where to look for the best advice. Should you go with Natalie Goldberg or Anne Lamott? Maybe William Zinsser or Stephen King would be more appropriate. Then again, what about the classics - Strunk and White, or even Aristotle himself? In Murder Your Darlings, Roy Peter Clark, who has been a beloved and revered writing teacher to children and Pulitzer Prize winners alike for more than 30 years, has compiled a remarkable collection of more than 100 of the best writing tips.
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Surprisingly engaging
- By Sil A. on 08-05-21
By: Roy Peter Clark
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Gender Magic
- Live Shamelessly, Reclaim Your Joy, & Step into Your Most Authentic Self
- By: Rae McDaniel MED LCPC CST
- Narrated by: Rae McDaniel MED LCPC CST
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Taking everything they know from more than a decade of working with the queer and trans community, their personal journey of gender exploration, and clinical best practices, licensed therapist, coach, and speaker Rae McDaniel created the Gender Freedom Model. A uniquely supportive narrative for gender exploration and transition grounded in queer joy, their nine-pillar model has helped thousands of transgender and nonbinary individuals explore gender through play, pleasure, and freedom. And now, it can help you too.
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Eh not for me
- By Dana on 10-24-23
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What Your Mother Couldn't Tell You and Your Father Didn't Know
- Advanced Relationship Skills for Better Communication and Lasting Intimacy
- By: John Gray
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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The rules of relationships have changed. In our generational movement toward wholeness, women want to be more than mothers and homemakers, and men aspire to loving relationships rather than simply being warriors and work machines. The age-old distinctions between male and female roles have blurred, and the rules of relationships have not yet caught up, creating confusion and frustration.
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Never had something so informative!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- By JKM on 11-09-17
By: John Gray
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The Angry Therapist
- By: John Kim
- Narrated by: John Kim
- Length: 4 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Tackling relationships, career, and family issues, John Kim, LMFT, thinks of himself as a life-style designer, not a therapist. His radical new approach, that he sometimes calls “self-help in a shot glass” is easy, real, and to the point. He helps people make changes to their lives so that personal growth happens organically, just by living.
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Great Book. a must listen audio book
- By John Butcher on 03-26-21
By: John Kim
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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