This week, Emily sits down with Penny Smith, a hospice nurse and social media influencer who’s changing the way we think and talk about death. 

Together, Emily and Penny explore why normalizing conversations about dying can lead to deeper understanding, acceptance, and peace for both patients and loved ones. Penny opens up about her own transformative journey, from a difficult past to finding purpose in hospice care, and how it shaped her compassionate approach to end-of-life work. With her viral presence as @hospicenursepenny, she’s bringing raw, honest, and even humorous conversations about death to millions. 

Listen as Emily and Penny reflect on acceptance, purpose, and what it truly means to live well, even at the end of life.

Order Penny’s Book Here! 

Host

In 2019, Emily Bingham lost her 32-year-old husband, Ian, to cancer. His death shattered her world but also cracked her open to profound truth. Through grief, she discovered who she was, accessed an inner strength she never knew existed, and transmuted her pain into purpose—launching a movement that helped millions of grievers heal and rebuild joyful lives.

But by 2023, even after growing a large community, hosting sold-out retreats, and publishing her first book LOVE & GRIEF, she realized she was living… but not actually alive. After 18 months of deep spiritual searching—including priestess training, somatic and psychedelic healing, and earning certifications as a Certified Dharma + Spiritual Life Coach (Highest Self Institute), Certified Temple Guide (13 Moon Mystery School), and Certified Grief Educator (trained by David Kessler)—she realized: Death was the missing link.

Not just a doorway to grief—but a bridge to radical gratitude, truth, and fierce aliveness.

Now, Emily’s mission is to help others awaken what matters, act now (not later), and alchemize what no longer serves—through the medicine of death.

Guest

Penny Smith, BSN, RN, is a nationally certified hospice and palliative care nurse, social media influencer, and author of Influencing Death, Reframing Dying for Better Living. For 20 years, she has worked in various hospice care settings and roles including inpatient, home hospice case management, education, quality, and regulatory. Penny is a passionate advocate for hospice education with a mission to normalize the end-of-life process and remove the stigma and fear around hospice care, death, and dying. During the pandemic, she turned to social media, using TikTok trends, dark humor, dancing, and storytelling to educate a worldwide audience and has since gained over 2.5 million followers as @hospicenursepenny.

Ready to stop talking about your dream life and actually start living it? Jump on the YOLO Experience Waitlist for your most aligned, abundant and ALIVE year yet: https://iamemilybingham.com/yolo-waitlist

Explore Emily’s books + courses: www.iamemilybingham.com.

Follow Emily on Instagram or TikTok for daily inspiration.

WIN A FREE COPY OF LOVE & GRIEF! We’re giving away a free copy of my book Love & Grief to the first 20 podcast listeners who subscribe and leave a review on my podcast. Enter your info here and I’ll send you the deets to win.

Have questions you’d love answered on the podcast? Drop them in the comments below!

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