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Brace yourself: Lisa Marie Presley's bestselling new memoir is a gut-punch
Co-written with her daughter Riley Keogh, the Oprah Book Club pick shares a candid look into the life of Elvis's only child.
Some people experience enough — and have enough things happen to them — for multiple lifetimes. Lisa Marie Presley was one of those people. For that reason alone, we had every reason to expect that her just-released memoir would be a jaw-dropper. What we didn't necessarily expect was that it would be such a heartbreaker. A month before her death (from a bowel obstruction following bariatric surgery) in 2023 at age 54, Presley, who'd been working on this book for years, realized she wasn't going to live long enough to finish it and so entrusted the task — and a stack of interview tapes — to her daughter Riley Keough. That's the reason for the dual byline ... and the shattering emotional punch of the finished product.
Mother and daughter cover all the "highlights," of course, including Lisa Marie's childhood spent at Graceland and, at age 9, finding her legendary dad dead in the bathroom. Barely a year later a boyfriend of her mom's began sexually abusing her; a suicide attempt followed at age 16. Then there were the marriages — four of them, including to Nicolas Cage and, most infamously, Michael Jackson (recalls Keogh: “At home they were a regular married couple. They would drive us to school together in the morning, just like a normal family, though sometimes Michael would bring along a chimpanzee."). In 2020, she'd lose her son (and Riley's brother) Ben to suicide (after which she kept his body at home on dry ice for two months). Following the birth of her twin daughters, Harper and Finley, via Caesarian in 2021, Presley descended into a painkiller addiction.
The memoir features alternating mother and daughter narration, resulting in, as the New York Times put it, "a haunting harmony that builds to a crescendo of heartbreak." Intrigued yet?
Being the daughter of "the King" isn't all it's cracked up to be, as this chronicle of fame's ravages shows.
Ever-astute when it comes to publishing phenoms, Oprah Winfrey has not only inducted the memoir into her venerated Book Club but did a prime-time sit-down with Keough that aired on CBS earlier this month. And she's not alone in her fandom; legions of farklempt Amazon reviewers have left glowing reviews and catapulted the title to the top of the mega-retailer's bestsellers list.
"Devoured!" said one of them. "I cried and cried. I am so thankful Lisa Marie and Riley gave us a glimpse. I felt the love and all the pain. I knew I loved Lisa Marie even though I did not know her, but somehow I felt her and now I know why. Lisa Marie, I hope you know that you touched more lives than you can even fathom. Thank you for sharing your light with us. Riley, what a truly amazing daughter you are!"
"This book is a shot straight through the heart," began one reader. "It's sad and mournful while also fun and funny. It's intimate and knowing while extravagant and wild. It's beautifully done. It's a deeply American tragedy. It barrels to a conclusion you know is coming and yet are not really prepared for. The last line of the book left me speechless, wondering about generational trauma, legacies, grief, rage and beauty. ... It is not a celebrity memoir. It is a deeply searching work with nothing less than the nature of life itself at the center."
"Just ... wow," said this stricken shopper. "I just finished reading this book. It is so well done, well written. Lisa Marie is a perfect example that money can't buy happiness, that you can feel totally alone and lonely even while surrounded by people, that celebrity is a double-edge sword. She was beautiful, she was soulful, she was clearly an amazing mother to her children. I'm happy to own this book — I will definitely read it again... . Riley does an amazing job writing this book with, and for, her mom."
Contrary to its title, this bestselling tome will leave you knowing a lot — too much? — about its (in)famous subject.
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The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
