Emma Heming Willis, the wife of Bruce Willis, revealed Monday that she plans on releasing a book about caregiving following her husband’s dementia diagnosis.
“For me knowledge is power, and building a supportive community around me has been vital,” Heming Willis, 45, said in a statement to People magazine. “It has brought stability and a certain amount of control back, control that was completely shattered when the diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia first came into our family’s world.”
According to Heming Willis, the untitled book is intended to be a resource for people with loved ones who are currently afflicted with dementia and will reportedly include interviews, advice from experts and personal stories from Heming Willis’ own experience.
“Identifying the right resources to educate and enlighten myself has been powerful and has allowed me the space to continue to move forward in the most positive way so that I can be the best mother, wife, daughter, friend and care partner,” the former model went on. “I want to be able to share that with the next person who finds themselves here.”
Heming Willis, who married the action star in 2009, has been open regarding her husband’s struggles with frontotemporal dementia, also known as FTD.
The actor’s family announced in March 2022 that he was officially retiring from Hollywood after being diagnosed with aphasia. He was later diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in February 2023.
“While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis,” his loved ones said in a joint statement at the time. “FTD is a cruel disease that many of us have never heard of and can strike anyone.”
“Bruce has always found joy in life — and has helped everyone he knows to do the same. It has meant the world to see that sense of care echoed back to him and to all of us.”
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, FTD is a group of disorders that occur when nerve cells in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain are lost. FTD can also affect behavior, personality, language and movement.
Heming Willis revealed in September 2023 that she wasn’t even sure if the “Die Hard” actor, 68, knew what was going on.
“It’s hard to know,” she said to Hoda Kotb on the “Today” show while holding back tears.
Heming Willis was joined by the CEO of the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, Susan Dickinson, during the appearance.
“What we know is, obviously the disease can start in the frontal or the temporal lobes,” explained Dickinson. “And one of the things that the frontal lobe controls is self-insight.
“So we really don’t know some people that’s the first thing they lose is any understanding that they themselves have changed,” she continued. “And other people retain that for a long time.”
In December 2023, sources close to the family claimed that the “Pulp Fiction” actor had “good days and bad days.”
“In the last two months, there are many more bad days than good,” the insider alleged to Us Weekly. “This experience has brought the whole family even closer together. No one knows how much time Bruce has left, so they’re soaking up every moment they get with him.”
A second source claimed that everyone in Willis’ family had been staying at his home.
“Once Bruce was diagnosed, everyone came together to keep his memory of the family intact and to be there as a constant reminder [that they] love him. [Everything] revolves around him,” the source claimed.
According to a third source, Willis’ ex-wife, Demi Moore, whom he has three daughters, has been the main “facilitator” for bringing everyone together.
“Sadly, there’s this ticking clock connected to Bruce’s condition,” the source added. “Everyone has come together for Bruce. They’re thankful they have each other.”
The book is slated to be published by Maria Shriver’s company, the Open Field, and is expected to hit shelves in 2025.
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