Lisa Marie Presley Book Review: What’s missing from her memoir and why it will shock Elvis fans to the core (spoilers)
From Here to the Great Unknown, by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough, sheds a light not only on Elvis Presley’s life at Graceland, but Lisa’s lifelong struggles that will rip your heart out.
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The long-awaited memoir from Lisa Marie is full of shocking revelations from the daughter of Elvis Presley including her life at Graceland, how she felt about her father and other family members, her supernatural experiences, the unconventional way she dealt with her son’s death and much more.
But because Lisa Marie died suddenly before completing her memoir, there are many gaps in her story.
From Here to the Great Unknown is a unique memoir in that there are unedited audiotapes by Lisa which are included in the audiobook. However, the transcript of these specific quotes by Lisa are left out of the text of the book and E-book. These soundbites, which range from 30 to 90 seconds, are included at the beginning and end of each chapter in the audiobook. Since the only access to the content of these soundbites is through the audiobook, it makes this version of the book a must for fans.
Another tip is that listening to the audiobook as you read the book makes it much easier to distinguish if you are reading Lisa’s words (narrated by Julia Roberts) or Riley’s words (narrated by Riley). The book uses a different font to distinguish between who is speaking, but the audiobook makes it so much clearer.
Lisa’s oldest daughter, Riley Keough, does a good job of filling in some of the gaps in Lisa’s story, as well as adding her own perspective of what was going on in Lisa’s life. Riley had to fill in the majority of Chapter 6 called “Ten Years” which covers the time period between Lisa’s divorce from Michael Jackson in 1996 and her 4th marriage to Michael Lockwood in 2006. But, in truth, this book, which is 304 pages long, could easily have been double the size if Lisa had been able to complete the book while she was alive.
The inclusion of this chapter by Riley is really important to bring balance to the book because many of the chapters about Lisa’s life are somewhat depressing (in my opinion). Riley explained that when her mother recorded interviews for the book, “she wasn’t in a place where she could recount all the great, fun times in her life. She focused mostly on the trauma.”
Lisa, who was always known for her honesty, reveals negative feelings about her mother, Priscilla, Ginger Alden (Elvis’ last girlfriend) and even Elvis. She declares that because Priscilla got pregnant so young at the age of 22, she didn’t want to have a baby. “I was a pain in her ass immediately and I always felt she didn’t want me,” Lisa declared. As for Ginger Alden, who found Elvis collapsed in the bathroom the day he died, Lisa wrote: “I didn’t mind Ginger, but I didn’t like her. Nobody did.”
One of the most captivating facts that Lisa reveals for Elvis fans is how close she was with her father. In previous interviews, Lisa alluded to this, but in her book, the reader really sees the intense connection that Lisa had with him. The first line in the book states: “I felt my father could change the weather. He was a god to me. A chosen human being.”
Elvis fans naturally think of Presley’s death in 1977 in individual terms, as how it affected themselves personally as fans of the music legend. But now, inside Lisa’s memoir, we see Elvis’ death from her perspective, and how it overshadowed her life. Lisa’s grief over Elvis’ death, which happened when she was 9 years old, was something she never got over her entire life, and time and time again, we can see how it affected her.
Not only was she devastated that this man who showed her unconditional love was gone, but her dynamic childhood at Graceland was also taken away. Lisa loved being at Graceland and never wanted to leave to go back to Los Angeles with her mother who shared custody of her with Elvis. When her father died, Lisa thought: “He’s dead and now I’m stuck with her [Priscilla].”
To say that Lisa and Priscilla had a tense relationship during Lisa’s teenage years is putting it mildly. Lisa’s shocking confession that she was molested by her mother’s boyfriend, Michael Edwards, is heartbreaking and disturbing to say the least.
Michael Edwards admitted in his 1988 book, Priscilla, Elvis and Me, that he had sexual thoughts about Lisa when she was a pre-teen and young teenager. But this is the first time it has been alleged that he acted on those feelings.
There has been no public statement from Priscilla about Lisa’s book. One can speculate if Priscilla will discuss Lisa’s claim against Edwards in her own memoir about her life after Elvis, which is expected to come out in 2025.
But as an adult, Lisa found a way to make peace with her mother during her adult years, especially when she became a mother herself. The book, however, does not address Lisa’s rumored rift with Priscilla in the final years before she died, or her opposition to the release of the movie, Priscilla.
As an Elvis fan, I found Lisa’s numerous stories about living at Graceland with Elvis to be the most fascinating. For example, Lisa describes how Elvis would often wake her up in the middle of the night so he could drive her in his golf cart to visit with his Dad, Vernon, who lived in a home across the pasture from Graceland.
With her bedroom upstairs at Graceland near her father’s, Lisa described how if Elvis’ door was open, she could always go in to see Elvis either watching TV, reading or talking to someone. She describes them all cringing during flights when Elvis decided he wanted to help land the “Lisa Marie” plane. He would act as co-pilot and announce: “Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts, Elvis is going to land the plane.”
Lisa looked up to Elvis not only as her father, but also as the dynamic entertainer that the world admired.
“I feel so honored that I got to spend any time with him at all. He was like a God – he really was – to me,” Lisa describes in one of her tape recordings.
But there was a dark side to Elvis which Lisa describes. When Elvis threw a temper tantrum, he would start throwing things. Lisa said that everyone would try to hide behind something to stay out of the way. “And yet I feared him, too,” Lisa admits about Elvis. “He was intense, you didn’t want him to get angry with you.”
Not only did Lisa witness some crazy escapades from her father, but she inherited his fun-loving attitude. She was known to organize surprises for her kids, especially on holidays and birthdays. Riley said her mom loved horror movies. One day, Lisa surprised Riley and came to her school one day dressed up like “Michael Myers” from the Halloween movie.
The 10 years, discussed in Chapter 6, were some of the happiest years in Lisa’s life, according to Riley. It’s comforting to know that Lisa found peace, at least for an extended period of time, enjoying her life. She created her own world where she had many family and friends living at her home. It was an atmosphere reminiscent of Graceland in the early to mid-1960s where Elvis was constantly throwing parties and enjoying himself surrounded by lots of friends and family.
Unfortunately, things started to go horribly wrong in Lisa’s life. She got addicted to opioids starting in her early 40s. Her substance abuse problem would come and go over the next decade. But the most traumatic event in Lisa’s life was in 2020 when her 27-year-old son, Benjamin, committed suicide.
Lisa was so distraught with grief over Ben. Astonishingly, she found a way to keep Ben’s body in her home, on ice, in his coffin for 2 months before he was buried. This explains the time gap between Ben’s death on July 12, 2020 and the announcement that he had been buried at Graceland on October 1, 2020.
Having an extended period of time to say goodbye to Ben helped her grieve. Lisa’s relationship with her son was so close – reminiscent of how close Elvis and his mother, Gladys, were. One can only imagine that, if he could have, Elvis would probably have done the same thing to spend extra time with his mother’s body before she was buried in 1958 after she died unexpectedly.
As for Lisa’s romantic relationships, she shares the most about her early relationships, including one that she felt totally betrayed by when her boyfriend arranged for paparrazzi to take photos of her in a park without her knowing.
She describes her on-again/off-again relationship with Danny Keough. She had an ectopic pregnancy, and then later had an abortion when she was with Danny. She regretted that, and then decided she definitely wanted to have a baby with him. When Lisa got pregnant again (with Riley), they decided to get married.
Regarding Michael Jackson, Lisa claims he was a virgin when she started dating him in 1994. Lisa goes into detail how she left her husband, Danny, for Michael. The marriage with Michael only lasted two years. She would get married two more times and dated a few other men that aren’t discussed in much detail in the book.
We also get a glimpse into Lisa’s connection to the supernatural world. According to Riley, Lisa could immediately tell if a house was haunted. Lisa also reveals that she had vivid dreams of Elvis for many years after he died. The dreams stopped only when her son was born in 1992.
What’s sorely missing from Lisa’s book is the stories behind her recording career. Lisa recorded three albums and worked with many people in the record business. For example, there’s no mention of her working with record producer, David Foster, who was married to Elvis’ ex-girlfriend, Linda Thompson, at the time. He was the one who helped her record her first duet performance with Elvis in 1997.
There’s no doubt that Lisa Marie led a colorful life of her own, and yet, this memoir just scratches the surface. She is still most famous for being Elvis’ only child. The photo selection for the cover of her book, showing Elvis holding Lisa as a toddler, makes that obvious.
A full mainstream biography of Lisa Marie Presley’s life has not yet been written. Until then, if that ever happens, we are grateful for the memories Lisa does share in this book that expose her innermost feelings like never before.
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This review was written by the Elvis News Examiner, Trina Young. She is the author of 4 Elvis books, including her latest, Fact vs. Fiction in the 2022 ELVIS Movie. Read a free excerpt at ElvisBiography.net.
Read the backstory about Lisa Marie’s book and more about her recording career on my Lisa Marie tribute page.
Watch: These four Lisa Marie Presley duets with her father, Elvis Presley, will make you cry
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I preordered mine as soon I learned there was going to be a book. Lisa Marie was Elvis’s gift from GOD. It is apparent how much she was devoted to him. What is so sad that her Mom was so busy travelling Lisa was bounced from place to place. Why in God’s heaven when Edwards lived with Priscilla. would she ever allow Edwards ever to get close to Lisa Marie? I cried when I learned how Lisa Marie felt unloved. THANKFULLY, SHE FOUND REAL LOVE WHEN HER DAUGHTER, RILEY, CAME ALONG. SHE ALWAYS PRAISED HER DAUGHTER FOR HOW VERY DETERMINED SHE WAS KNOWING WHAT PATH SHE WANTED TO WALK. When she lost Ben, I could tell the pain she was feeling. Her daughters were there and helped bring her to her senses of going on for them. I believe she saw much of her Father in him. Now, she lost two very determining men in her life. I think a lot wasn’t put in her book with the struggle she had with Lockwood for her twins. I always thought her and Danny were the best together. He was there through everything and to the very end. May this very talented, mixed up Princess find pure happiness being with her Father, Ben and grandparents on her Father’s side. I’m glad she didn’t mention the son Priscilla had. He has no place to be included. I thought the book was excellent and rate it a 10. I admire Riley for even attempting such an ordeal. MAY GOD BLESS HER PRECIOUS CHILDREN. (read the entire book in one day)
Well said, Doris! I agree with your heartfelt description of the book. Yes, Riley did a great job! Thank you for your comment
The book makes for a fascinating read. It’s very sad and Riley’s description of grief, is very powerfully expressed. However, I was surprised that Riley did not include the weeks that Lisa Marie spent with Baz Lurhman and Austin Butler in relation to the Elvis movie. This film portrayal of her father meant so much to her and brought her out into the public sphere again. Similarly, her anger at the Priscilla film needed to be written about too, shiwing how Lisa was so fiercely protective of her father’s legacy.
Good point, Kalia! Yes, I agree, there was a lot that was left out. Thanks for your comment
I just finished the book by Lisa and Riley and it was stunning and at times took your breath. I felt so happy to read that Lisa had the closeness she had with her dad at least while he lived and they were together at Graceland. After reading this, the trauma in Lisa Maries life truly shows this woman often dealt with pain and grief, never able to really move on in life to a point she could have truly happy moments on a regular basis like somewhat normal life. Lisa Marie evidently had brief happiness, with her children, her marriages, but the marriages would turn to unhappiness for her and back to the sadness. A great deal of information on Lisa Maries drug addiction and how she tried hard to overcome it , and at some point she seemed to do so. But her loss of Ben was to be her undoing and she could not overcome that. Not much written about interactions of Priscilla with the children , or during crisis times in her life , small doses , but she didn’t get much discussion other than when Lisa was growing up before Elvis died, when Elvis died, and the years immediately after when Lisa says her mother Priscilla was constantly flaunting men , and even sent Lisa away because she could not get Lisa to do what she wanted. Scientology was mentioned and Lisa found some relief at times in that. Over all, I loved the book, and comment Lisa Marie and Riley for managing to put this autobiography together. The last few pages had me in virtual tears ,and I don’t want to give it away , but suffice to say the detail is just heartbreaking and I was feeling great sadness and pain for Riley . I wish the book was longer and more things covered but alas a life too short. Love to this family for sharing this story for all of us Elvis and Presley family fans.
I read the book in a day, a real page turner.
Its brutally honest, funny, tear jerking,
and truthful . I feel her life was on the road to destruction the day after her father passed away. She lost the two strongest people in her life.
Her salvation were her daughter’s Riley, Finley and Harper and her granddaughter Tupelo.