The Unexpected Journey: Finding Hope and Purpose on the Caregiving Path

(Paperback)

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From Emma Heming Willis, wife of Bruce Willis, a deeply personal and richly compassionate support guide that helps caregivers care for themselves while they navigate a loved one's dementia

The day Emma Heming Willis husband Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), all they were given was a pamphlet and told to check back in a few months. With no hope or direction, Emma walked out of that doctors appointment frozen with fear, confusion and a sense that her world had just fallen apart.

In fact, it had. Bruce and Emma had their story written, their future mapped out. Yet all those dreams crumbled with that diagnosis, and Emma felt alone and more isolated than ever. How would she care for her husband while parenting their young daughters and protecting her familys privacy

At that devastating time, Emma just wanted someone who'd been through it to tell her, This feels terrible right now. Your life is in shambles. But its going to be okay. Here are some things to think about and put in place so you can not just survive but thrive.

With The Unexpected Journey, Emma has written the book she wishes shed had: a guide to navigating the complicated, heartbreaking, and transformative experience that is caregiving for your loved one with dementia. Weaving her personal journey as a care partner with the latest research and insights from the worlds top dementia and caregiving experts, she offers the guidance and wisdom caregivers everywhere so desperately need to hear, including:

• Getting a specific diagnosis is crucial. You should understand how your loved ones brain changes with dementia.
• Taking care of yourself is not optional; it's mandatory. It will make you a better care partner. Its not selfish, its self-preserving.
• You dont have a choice about being on this dementia caregiving journey. But you do have a choice in terms of how you approach it and reframe it.
• Caregivers are human. You arent always patient and selfless, you have challenges and struggle with conflicting emotionsand thats okay.

Ultimately, The Unexpected Journey shows you how to care for yourself while doing one of the hardest, most heartbreaking jobs in the world. Because if you dont take care of yourself, you are not going to be able to look after anyone elseespecially your loved one with dementia.

For anyone caregiving for a loved one with any form of dementia, and even for those caregiving for other conditions, The Unexpected Journey shows that you are not alone. As Emma writes, I know that no two caregiving journeys are the same, but we are connected by the same unchosen thread. Its not an easy path for you, your loved one or your family. But Im here to let you know that you are not alone, and, in time, you will be okay.

Author Bio

Emma Heming Willis is a British and Indian/West Indian model, entrepreneur, advocate, wife, and mother of two and stepmother of three. She is the co-founder and Chief Impact Officer for Make TimeWellness, and founder and CEO of CocoBaba, a vegan skincare company. Emmas husband Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and she has since become a powerful advocate for dementia awareness, support for the lived experience of FTD for care partners and families, and research to end FTD and all forms of neurodegenerative disease.