Foreword

The statistics are astounding. Between the years 2000 and 2040, the population of older adults in the United States will more than double, to the point that one in five people you see on the street will be older than 65. Over half of those older people will be women. Many of those women will be widows. Many will live alone. Many will be fighting poverty while still more will be providing care for another person while also caring for themselves. In the face of these growing numbers, we cannot afford not to think about aging for the sake of our communities and the sake of our friends, neighbors, family members, and colleagues who will be the 79.7 million older Americans in 2040.

The numbers tell both a tale of caution and one of opportunity for women, as you will read in this book. The experience of aging for women can be a time of struggle and challenge – both anticipated and unexpected – especially for those who are not prepared to be older. Today we live in a world where no one teaches us how to age, and women are particularly vulnerable as they face a reality of living longer, potentially alone, with limited resources and a shrinking network of support.

But aging does not have to be a time of trauma if we continue to talk and think and plan. It does not have to be a time of stigma if we acknowledge that people are aging all around us, and we are aging with them. Knowing what we know, we are at a pivotal moment right now where we can change the experience of aging for women for the better if we are willing to speak up, and loudly, about what it means to be an aging woman. This book from some of the aging field’s most respected thinkers starts the conversation.