Emma Heming, the wife of American actor Bruce Willis, who suffered from dementia, announced that she will publish a book about caring for her husband after her diagnosis.
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“For me, knowledge is power and building a supportive community around me was critical,” Heming Willis said in a statement to People magazine.
“It brought back stability and some control, control that was completely shattered when the dementia diagnosis first came [dans nos vies]” she added.
The book, whose title has not yet been announced, is intended to be a source of information for people whose loved ones are currently suffering from dementia, according to Heming Willis.
She reportedly discussed her husband's struggles with frontotemporal dementia, also known as FTD, in her texts.
The book would also include interviews, expert advice and personal stories based on the actor's wife Heming Willis' own experiences at the age of 45.
AFP
“Finding the right resources to educate and educate myself was impactful and gave me the space to grow in the most positive way,” she shared.
All with the goal of “being the best mother, wife, daughter, friend and closest caregiver,” she tells People. “I want to be able to share this with the next person who comes across it.”
Heming Willis married the action star in 2009, including in the acclaimed film “Pulp Fiction”.
Bruce Willis' family announced to the world in March 2022 that the actor was officially retiring from Hollywood after being diagnosed with aphasia.
He was then diagnosed with frontotemporal degeneration in February 2023.
“Even though it is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis. It is a cruel disease that can affect anyone,” his relatives said in a statement at the time.
AFP
Willis' wife even admitted that she wasn't even sure he knew what was going on.
“It's hard to understand,” she told the Today Show in September 2023.
In December 2023, close sources revealed that he had “good days and bad days.”
However, there have been many more bad days than good in the past two months, the same sources told US Weekly. “Everyone came together for Bruce.”
According to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, frontotemporal degeneration, or FTD, refers to a group of rare diseases that primarily affect the frontal and temporal regions of the brain.
Symptoms are related to behavior, personality, speech and movement.
The book will be published by Maria Shivrer's company Open Field and will be available by 2025.