The Retirement Dream Was Aging with Dignity. The North American Reality is Increasing Desperation.

We were promised support, security, and care after a lifetime of work. What we’re getting is red tape, abandonment, and rising reports of people choosing death over aging in poverty.

Hey friends,

I know I’ve been quiet lately. Ghost-level quiet, and I’m sorry for that.

October was supposed to look a lot different than it’s turned out. I had this dreamy plan: two weeks at Outsite Bordeaux, sipping burgundies and merlots, writing in cozy cafes, before heading north to the Digital Nomad Girls retreat at Castle Coliving in Picauville.

Soon, I’ll head to Scotland for a new date in a trial I’ve been covering… which was set for right in the middle of that DNG retreat. So I’ll still get my chilly nights and maybe a castle or two, just not the way I envisioned.

For now, I’m home in Canada, trying to find care for my mother in a healthcare system so broken that it barely resembles the one she paid into her whole life. The social safety net we were promised has ghosted us, too.

Honestly, I’m angry and heartbroken for my mother and all the seniors who are trying to age with dignity in a system that’s crumbling beneath them. The housing crisis, failing healthcare, underfunded services… it’s not just inconvenient. It’s inhumane.

We were sold quite the story, weren’t we? That if you work hard, pay into the system, raise your family right, and play by the rules, you’ll be taken care of. That retirement would be a reward… a chance to rest, to travel a little, to finally exhale after a lifetime of contributing.

Instead, I’m watching people who did everything “right” being left to fend for themselves. Waiting months to see doctors. Shuffled between overworked caseworkers and under-resourced programs. Paying more and getting less.

We’re being sent in circles, passed from one agency to the next, each saying it’s someone else’s responsibility. You make the calls, fill out the forms, wait on hold, hope for callbacks that never come.

Get the door slammed in your face, write the appeal, wait for the next no.

Until eventually, you realize: there is no help. Not really. Just layers of red tape masking a void where real support should be.

That voice in my head that has long whispered at me… it’s now screaming: “You cannot get old here. This retirement dream is a waking nightmare.”

Is it any wonder we’re seeing more people in the news choosing MAID over continuing to suffer?

Let me be clear: I’m not saying that applies to my mom. She’s been very clear — that’s not what she wants. And I’m grateful that MAID exists for those who need it. My dad chose to explore that path when his cancer progressed, and although he didn’t live long enough to access it, I’m thankful he had that choice.

But my god… what are we doing here, Canada?

When people are choosing death not because they’re terminal, but because they’ve been abandoned by the systems that were meant to protect them and are instead left in pain, poverty, and isolation — that is a national failure.

This is not a drill, or hyperbole. It’s happening. Many older folks are not being cared for… they’re being discarded.

I don’t have a tidy conclusion or a silver lining for this. Just a lot of questions and an increasing sense of dread. And maybe a renewed sense that if we want something different for ourselves, we have to be willing to shine a great, big spotlight on what’s broken and demand better.

For now, wherever you are, I hope you’re safe. I hope your flights land on time and your people are close, or at least a message away.

Thanks for sticking around.

✌🏻 Miranda