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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsEmma Heming Willis says the holidays still bring love and joy for her family, but dementia has changed the traditions and routines they once shared with Bruce Willis. In a personal essay, she recalls his role in the family’s celebrations and describes making room for grief alongside connection. ABC News reported on the essay on December 21, 2025.
What Emma Heming Willis shared about the holidays
In her essay, “The Holidays Look Different Now,” Heming Willis remembers Bruce as the person who made pancakes and took the children out in the snow. He was a steady presence through the holiday day; now, she says, she will make the pancakes as the family gathers for breakfast and a holiday movie.
She describes the way familiar tasks and songs can bring grief into a celebration, and how pressure to make the holidays feel “normal” can add strain. Traditions may take more planning, she writes, and families may need to simplify celebrations, adapt routines, or let go of the obligation to explain their choices. Her reflections are personal, not clinical guidance for every family.
“The joy doesn’t cancel out the sadness. The sadness doesn’t cancel out the joy. They coexist,” she writes. She also says, “There is still connection. There is still love. There is still joy to be had.” For Heming Willis, the point is not to replace the past or pretend nothing has changed, but to let old memories and new traditions exist together.
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Why the update is described as two years after the diagnosis
The family announced Bruce Willis’s frontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosis on February 16, 2023. In its statement, the family said his condition had progressed since they announced an aphasia diagnosis in spring 2022, and that they now had a more specific diagnosis: FTD. The “two years after” framing refers to the 2023 FTD announcement, not the earlier aphasia announcement.
The family described the diagnosis as a relief after a period of uncertainty and asked for attention to FTD awareness and research. FTD is the diagnosis identified in that family statement; aphasia refers to difficulties with language expression or understanding. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders notes that aphasia can also occur with progressive neurological disorders, including FTD.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What Heming Willis said about communication and care
In an August 2025 ABC News interview, Heming Willis said Bruce’s communication was changing and that the family had learned different ways to communicate with him. She also described professional caregivers and a separate home chosen to be safe, quiet, and easier for him to navigate. Those details come from her interview and are not claims made in the holiday essay.
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