From Here to the Great Unknown by Lisa Presley & daughter Riley Keough

'From Here to the Great Unknown' is a memoir by Lisa Marie Presley, co-authored by her daughter, Riley Keough. Published in October 2024, the book offers an intimate glimpse into Lisa Marie's life as the only child of Elvis Presley, detailing her experiences with fame, personal relationships, addiction, and profound loss.

The memoir is structured around tapes Lisa Marie recorded before her passing in 2023, with Riley completing the narrative by adding context and reflections. Riley said her mother asked her to help write the book with the audio tapes she already recorded because she wasn't in the mental state to do it alone. Riley agreed but just a month later her mother passed away, leaving Riley to finish the book without her. This dual perspective provides a comprehensive look into Lisa Marie's tumultuous upbringing at Graceland, her complex relationship with her mother, Priscilla Presley, and her marriages to figures like Danny Keough, Michael Jackson, Nicolas Cage and Michael Lockwood. The book also delves into her struggles with opioid addiction, particularly following the birth of her twins in 2008, and the devastating impact of her son Benjamin Keough's suicide in 2020.

I was so impressed and into this book. I read Priscilla Presley's book 'Elvis and Me' a few years back and it was alright but you can tell the nitty gritty details were not included as much as they could've been. As many memoirs do, they leave out what they do not want to share, are embarrassed about or otherwise, which is a shame and takes away from the full story. So reading this new book by Lisa Marie was so refreshing, had so many intimate details and you really feel you're getting a glimpse into the lives and perspectives they lived.

Lisa Marie's childhood was unstable and chaotic but one thing that was constant was her bond with her father, Elvis Presley. He was unpredictable, had addictions, behaved dangerously at times with golf carts and binges but Lisa felt loved and bonded to her father. Her mother Priscilla, she did not feel that with until later on in life. The loss of her father cemented the trajectory of her life with emotional struggles and never feeling good enough or like she belonged anywhere.

It was interesting to me that Priscilla left Elvis because of what she claimed cheating and addictions, just to be with Michael Edwards afterwards. According to Lisa, Priscilla and Michael's relationship was 'terrible, toxic and violent'. He was an actor and ironically played a role in Mommy Dearest to which he was home one day and caught Priscilla yelling at Lisa about having wire hangers. Michael had a field day with that. Lisa describes Michael having been inappropriate with her, to say the least, and Priscilla still stayed with him after she told her. Priscilla also left her with nannies or later on kept taking her to the scientology building to live so they could 'handle' her. With all this instability, uncertainty and not feeling close to her family life at home, Lisa struggled emotionally and set the course of many ups and downs in her life to come.

Lisa's first real crush and relationship was when she was only 14 with an older guy that ended up selling photos of them for money, history repeating itself from Priscilla's age gap to Elvis.

We get a glimpse of Lisa's relationship with Michael Jackson and how they met, grew closer and ended up together which was very interesting and aspects I wasn't aware of. Personally I always thought it was for show but in this book it was very much a real union.

Lisa Marie loved being a mother and you can't help but think why would she do drugs and or act depressed in front of her children knowing the damage she's causing, which eventually ended up with her son's passing and that eventually broke her heart to the point of her own passing? You might think that sounds judgemental and maybe it is but it's an honest thought and question that crossed my mind while reading it.

The book goes back and forth, using different fonts to clarify when Lisa was speaking and when Riley was speaking and this really gave it depth I truly appreciated. I hear the audio book is fabulous and Julia Roberts speaks for Lisa Marie and Riley speaks for herself.

Overall, "From Here to the Great Unknown" is a compelling and poignant memoir that sheds light on the complexities of living under the Presley legacy. Its unfiltered narrative and the collaborative effort between mother and daughter make it a top tier memoir and a five star rating from me.

Happy Reading! Highly Recommend

Salty Sunshine Podcast