An age-old fear grows more common: ‘I’m going to die alone’
10/22/25 at 03:00 AM
An age-old fear grows more common: ‘I’m going to die alone’
Miami Herald; by Judith Graham, Kaiser Health News; 10/17/25
This summer, at dinner with her best friend, Jacki Barden raised an uncomfortable topic: the possibility that she might die alone. “I have no children, no husband, no siblings,” Barden remembered saying. “Who’s going to hold my hand while I die?” ... It’s something that many older adults who live alone — a growing population, more than 16 million strong in 2023 — wonder about. ... More than 15 million people 55 or older don’t have a spouse or biological children; nearly 2 million have no family members at all.