What Scares Women About Getting Older? Everything!

By Michelle Burford
Sharon Salzberg on a childless existence

"But if I don't have children, who will care for me when I'm old?"

"I don't have children, and my whole family of origin was so fractured—my mother died when I was young, and my father was gone. So I've re-created a sense of family among my friends. Creating these kinds of connections is something we all have to do, whether we have children or not. Yes, some parents have close relationships with their children. Others don't. An adult child might get a job and move to the other side of the world. None of it is in our control. Because of the way my life unfolded when I was young, I learned the truth about change, the uncertainty of life. My meditation practice has helped me peel away my assumptions about how much control I have."

—Sharon Salzberg, 52, co-founder of the Insight Meditation Center in Barre, Massachusetts, and author of Lovingkindness and Faith