Review: Lisa Marie Presley Posthumously Educates on Elvis, Grief, and Addiction

This review contains discussions of addiction, suicide, and mental health. Reader discretion is advised.

The 2020s have been a tumultuous decade for fans of the Presley family, marked by significant moments of both rediscovery and loss. While Elvis’s music has found new audiences through recent film adaptations, the Presley family has also faced tragedy, losing Elvis’s grandson, Benjamin, at just 27, and his daughter, Lisa Marie, in early 2023. I remember both days vividly.

The memoir “From Here to the Great Unknown” began as a project that Lisa Marie Presley revisited throughout her life. Following her untimely death, her daughter, actress Riley Keough, took on the task of completing the work, using tapes that Lisa had recorded. The memoir captures Lisa’s experiences with unconditional love from her father, the trials of motherhood, struggles with addiction, and enduring grief. Riley felt a deep obligation to fulfill her mother’s wish to share these raw and poignant memories with the world. The book is a dialogue between mother and daughter, bridging this life and the next, as they seek to heal one another.

Lisa Marie Presley has been a familiar figure to me since childhood, as I grew up a lifelong fan of her father, Elvis, and her former husband, Michael Jackson—both of whom she discusses candidly, offering insights into the private lives of these public heroes. Reading the book, I found myself moved in a way that transcended fandom. The initial chapters recount Elvis’s death, life at Graceland, and the complex world in between. We hear intimate stories of Elvis as a father, such as buying jewelry for Lisa’s friends to impress them. (He was Elvis Presley, btw!) Gradually, the veneer of celebrity fades, revealing Lisa Marie as more than just the daughter of a legend, but as a person with her own voice and struggles.

“I think she’s had a complicated relationship with existing in the public eye and wanting to connect to people and share her story, but also really not enjoying having attention on her.” – Riley Keough

The memoir does not shy away from the darker aspects of Lisa’s life, recounting her battles with addiction, the pain of loss, and the weight of grief. It reads as a testament to resilience, almost a guide for navigating life’s most difficult moments. Particularly moving are the chapters addressing Lisa’s profound sorrow following her son Ben’s suicide in 2020. In the book’s epilogue, Riley discusses her mother’s plans to raise awareness about mental health through podcasts, public appearances, and other initiatives. She ultimately concludes that her mother died of a broken heart.

“From Here to The Great Unknown” is available everywhere now.