From Here to the Great Unknown

in the years leading up to her death, lisa marie presley, the only daughter of elvis presley, began working on a memoir. despite trying various approaches and sitting for multiple interviews, she was plagued by self-doubt and struggled to write about herself. frustrated, she turned to her daughter, riley keough, for help. riley agreed, not realizing how much of a commitment it would become. tragically, just a month later, lisa marie passed away, leaving riley to complete the memoir using the raw tapes of her mother’s interviews and voice recordings.

this process has given the memoir an extra layer of meaning, as it ended up providing a multi-generational perspective on how the effects of trauma can linger in a family. with a deep sense of love, riley has honored her mother’s legacy while sharing a deeply human story about family, fame, and the challenges of living under the weight of extraordinary circumstances.

being the daughter of elvis presley meant living in a larger-than-life world. even to lisa marie presley, her father was almost a mythical figure; his emotions seemed powerful enough to control the weather. his presence was commanding. and yet his love for her was warm and absolute. 

as a child, lisa marie was always trying to make him laugh. she remembers cracking him up after impersonating one of his adoring fans. but she also feared his disappointment, a shadow that loomed large in her life.

her mother, priscilla, was a complex figure – glamorous but struggling with self-worth. she remembers watching her mother’s meticulous makeup rituals and marveling at her beauty. but beneath priscilla’s exterior was a woman battling feelings of inadequacy. her struggles with motherhood left an imprint on her, one that shaped lisa marie’s own uneasy sense of self from the start.

elvis and priscilla broke up when lisa marie was six, and she bounced between los angeles, where her mother lived, and graceland, in nashville, where elvis lived with his big, extended family. lisa marie was a daddy’s girl who far preferred staying at graceland. the estate was a lively sanctuary where she was free to play and drive around in golf carts like she was in a demolition derby. but the top floor of the house was a private world shared only by her and her father. that upstairs space was like a haven for their special bond. whether they were talking, watching tv, or sneaking snacks, those moments were treasures she held close.

but as the years went on, lisa marie also remembers how elvis could erupt in anger – an anger that was likely due to his addiction to medications that doctors were prescribing him. she recalls one occasion when he destroyed a hotel room, throwing furniture off the balcony. these moments never lasted long, but her father became increasingly affected by the drugs. sometimes he’d be so drowsy that he’d nod off at the dining table, or she’d come home to find him asleep on the floor.

lisa marie told her dad that she was worried about him, but he reassured her that he wasn’t going away. sadly though, when she was nine, she awoke knowing that something was wrong. graceland was in chaos, and her father had been found passed out in the bathroom. they wouldn’t let her see him as the paramedics carried him away. moments later she would learn that her father was suddenly gone.

lisa marie was heartbroken by the death of her father. she didn’t want to go home to her mother, with whom she had a far more fraught relationship. her mother was cold – only interested in structure and discipline. whenever she was with her, lisa marie felt like a trophy child, expected to fit a mold that didn’t suit her. 

she was carrying a lot of anger about her father’s death, and she acted out, getting into drugs and alcohol at an early age. priscilla had been introduced to scientology by the actor john travolta, and, at a loss as to how to handle her daughter, she dropped off lisa marie at the scientology center in los angeles, hoping they’d be able to help. and it did help. the center served as a place where she could process her questions and grief, offering a semblance of stability amid the chaos.

for the next few years, however, she bounced between schools and continued to get in trouble. drugs remained a constant. she wasn’t tied to one substance; she sought out whatever numbed her pain.

meanwhile, things at home with priscilla weren’t improving. the household was destabilized further by michael edwards, priscilla’s boyfriend, whose abusive behavior crossed alarming boundaries. lisa marie describes enduring years of physical and emotional harm, with her mother offering little protection. when riley, lisa marie’s daughter, first heard about these experiences, she believed they deeply affected her mother’s lifelong sense of safety and self-worth.

lisa marie was also hurt by her first serious boyfriend, a 23-year-old actor she met on a movie set. just fourteen at the time, she lost her virginity to this man, who went on to sell private photos of them to the tabloids. this exploitation marked her first profound experience of betrayal, a weight she carried ever after.

yet, amid this chaos, she found unexpected solace and purpose when scientology tasked her with helping a young, struggling mother who was battling heroin addiction. for a time, she thrived in this role, finding meaning in supporting someone else. it was also during this period that she met danny keough, who would become a transformative figure in her life.

lisa marie first met danny keough when she was just seventeen. she was trying to shed her wild past but found herself drawn to danny, the bassist in a local band. he had an aura that captured everyone’s attention. but even he was intimidated by lisa marie.

they dated for a short time, the relationship ending when she learned he was interested in another girl. years passed, but she never stopped thinking about danny. she was certain he was the one she was destined to have children with. their cat-and-mouse dynamic eventually led to a reunion – a reunion that was carefully planned by lisa marie to align with her ovulation cycle.

as riley humorously describes it, her father never really stood a chance. when lisa marie confirmed she was pregnant with riley, danny felt duty-bound to marry her.

riley’s birth was a turning point, giving lisa marie a sense of purpose and healing. determined to break the cycle of her own upbringing, lisa marie vowed to be an involved and loving parent. her second child, ben, came soon after, and she cherished her growing family.

music soon became a major focus. with danny’s help, she recorded her first song, "baby i love you,” which stunned her family and friends. she had such a powerful voice! they made a demo tape which gained attention from some of the biggest names in the industry, including prince and michael jackson.

lisa marie had met michael before, in las vegas, when they were both kids. but their real connection happened years later, in 1993. this time, it was instant chemistry. they bonded over their shared experience of growing up in the spotlight and trying to escape a painful past. here were two people who truly understood each other.

michael confessed that he was "completely gone in love" with her and proposed getting married and having children. sure enough, lisa marie was falling for michael, too. when she told danny that she hadn’t rejected michael’s proposal, danny was heartbroken and it ended their marriage.

lisa marie and michael tied the knot just twenty days after the divorce was finalized. and they were happy at first, with michael charming lisa marie’s family and singing songs to riley and ben. but cracks soon began to show. he wanted children; she wasn’t sure. and when he mentioned there was another woman, debbie rowe, who was willing to have his kids, she wasn’t happy.

the breaking point came when she began suspecting michael’s drug use, with behavior eerily reminiscent of her father’s. his secrecy and reliance on doctors strained their trust. despite her efforts to help, michael’s addiction and controlling tendencies drove them apart. they divorced in 1996, but they continued to talk from time to time.

years later, michael’s death hit her hard, reopening old wounds. at his funeral, she sat with his coffin, haunted by past conversations during which michael had expressed fears of dying like elvis. she felt sorry that she hadn’t been there to help him avoid that fate.

the ten years between lisa marie’s divorce from michael jackson and her marriage to michael lockwood were a mix of personal recovery and magical moments for the children.

during this time, lisa marie moved her family to belleair, florida, seeking solace after a mental health crisis that followed her high-profile divorce. she’d been battling severe panic attacks, but eventually found healing in the quiet, swampy charms of florida.

for riley and ben, these were golden years. together they explored their southern surroundings. they spent their days riding bikes, catching fireflies, searching for manatees, and climbing kumquat trees, where they could secretly listen in as their neighbor played his fiddle.

despite lisa marie’s struggles, she worked hard to create a joyful, magical life for her kids, while also longing to repair her relationship with their father, danny keough. though they didn’t remarry, danny remained a steady figure, often living with them in florida and supporting the family when they needed it most.

when they eventually returned to california, hidden hills became their true home – a sprawling, peaceful community far removed from hollywood’s glare. their house buzzed with a mix of friends, extended family, and a sense of carefree adventure. it was not unlike lisa marie’s memories of graceland. but there were early signs that not all was well; riley remembers noticing her mother drinking more than usual.

meanwhile, another romance was brewing. in october of 2000, lisa marie met the actor nicolas cage at johnny ramone’s birthday party. their brief marriage in 2002 was a whirlwind affair that lasted all of 108 days. it was, as riley put it, like a florida storm – intense and fleeting. nic brought a dose of over-the-top excitement to the family’s life. he rolled up to the house in a lamborghini and showered lisa marie with diamonds and vintage cars. but their chemistry was too intense to last.

after that chapter closed, lisa marie turned her focus toward finding stability, which is what she sought when marrying the music producer michael lockwood. she also craved motherhood once again, and after years of trying, she gave birth to twin girls, harper and finley, in 2008. this time, she wanted to be more hands-on and less reliant on nannies. riley, nineteen at the time, felt a maternal bond with her baby sisters.

however, the joy of this period was short-lived. addiction, a shadow that had loomed over the family for decades, began to take hold after lisa marie was prescribed opiates following her c-section.

lisa marie admits that before 2008, she was driven by a hunger for understanding – life, people, her purpose – but that everything changed after the birth of her twins, when she was prescribed norco. the first time she took the drug, the high she felt triggered a spiral she couldn’t control. slowly, she dismantled her support systems, isolating herself from the friends and relationships that had kept her grounded.

part of the isolation process involved moving to england. she wanted to create a simpler, more idyllic life for the family. for a while, it worked. she gardened with her daughters, cooked dinners, and reveled in the charm of the countryside. 

riley remembers those early years in england as magical – tea by the fire, impromptu karaoke nights, and even a home pub where her mom entertained friends like the musician jeff beck and the dutchess of york, sarah ferguson. but the peace was fragile. beneath it, her mom’s pill use quietly escalated.

things took a darker turn when the family returned to the united states. riley recalls finding her mother crying in the bathtub, her face bruised from falling down while high. despite stints in rehab, and moving to nashville as a way of restarting her life, lisa marie’s addiction only worsened. at one point, she was taking up to 80 pills a day, cycling between opioids and cocaine in a desperate attempt to manage her dependency.

for lisa marie, the shame of failing her young daughters, coupled with her belief that being a great mother was her defining purpose, fueled her despair. her health deteriorated rapidly. when she began to experience heart failure, she only agreed to see a doctor if ben would drive her from nashville to los angeles so that she could continue taking drugs along the way. her body was barely holding on when she finally arrived at the hospital.

rehab began, but even in recovery, the cycle of addiction persisted, with prescribed medications like suboxone and seroquel only deepening her disorientation. she spent her days on the couch, detached from life, watching tv.

her profound loneliness and despair created an atmosphere of darkness that began to engulf the household. it affected ben as well. ben had a unique bond with his mother. riley describes it as deeply symbiotic. he was so utterly devoted to her that he put his own dreams on hold. “i can’t leave mom,” he told riley. he felt a heavy responsibility to stay by her side, especially as her isolation deepened and her health deteriorated.

yet, this devotion came at a cost. ben, like so many in their family, found solace in substances. his drinking and drug intake increased as he grew more withdrawn.

one evening, while celebrating his girlfriend’s birthday, ben and his mom exchanged texts. sensing something off in his mood, she urged him to come home. ben reassured her that he was just going out to get a beer. it was the last she’d hear from him.

riley keough remembers the horrifying moment she learned about her brother's death: the early morning phone call telling her that ben had shot himself, the gut-wrenching words she couldn’t process, and the immediate realization of how this loss would irreparably change their lives.

when riley broke the news to lisa marie, her mother’s initial disbelief gave way to an all-consuming grief. her first instinct was to rush to her son, as though she could somehow undo what had happened. when they finally saw him – his body unzipped from the bag – lisa marie cradled his head and finally allowed herself to cry.

the aftermath of ben’s death was painful for everyone left behind. riley describes her inability to speak, the physical weight of grief, and the guilt that haunted her as ben’s older sister. for her mom, the loss was a wound that never healed.

lisa marie was able to honor ben by staying sober, but her heartbreak was unshakable. her love for her children kept her tethered to life, but she openly admitted to feeling torn – three children on earth, one somewhere else. riley felt that despite her mother’s efforts, it felt inevitable that she was dying of a broken heart.

in late 2022, her mom was in and out of the hospital, complaining of stomach pain, and struggling with a mysterious, worsening condition. riley tried to stay hopeful, but a sense of dread lingered. her mother was increasingly withdrawn and distant, her usual strength and vitality fading.

then, on january 12, 2023, riley got a call from her father, telling her that her mother had collapsed and was being rushed to the hospital after possibly having a heart attack. riley’s instincts told her that her mother wouldn’t survive, a gut feeling that proved to be tragically accurate. riley knew that her mom had no desire to keep fighting. she could feel it in the air, the sense that she was ready to go.

when riley received the devastating news, it was a shock, but also it wasn’t. she’d been preparing herself for this moment in a way, sensing the inevitable. lisa marie, despite being loved deeply, had felt the weight of loss and grief for so long that her will to live had dissipated. 

the funeral at graceland was both sorrowful and a joyful celebration, a reminder of lisa marie’s vibrant life and the people who loved her. in riley’s eulogy, she honored her mom’s legacy with a beautiful and bittersweet message of gratitude, thanking her for everything she passed on to her children – strength, heart, humor, wildness, and tenacity. her love and positive influence will live on forever. 

at the end of the service, the casket was driven in a golf cart, just as her father’s had been. the procession followed to her final resting place at graceland’s meditation garden, where she is buried next to her son, ben, and across from her father, elvis.

in this chapter to from here to the great unknown by lisa marie presley and riley keough, you’ve learned that…

lisa marie presley was a daddy’s girl and loved spending time with her father, elvis presley. her life changed dramatically when her father died when she was just nine years old. deeply affected by this death, lisa marie acted out by getting involved in drugs and alcohol, but she found solace with scientology. she started to clean up her life when she met danny keough and gave birth to her first two children, her daughter riley and her son ben.

new levels of fame and attention arrived when lisa marie was briefly married to michael jackson, another person who grew up under the spotlight and had trouble coping with a traumatic past. meanwhile, lisa marie focused on making her own music, but things took a turn after she had two more children with michael lockwood. after the delivery she became seriously addicted to painkillers. matters became worse when her beloved son ben committed suicide. riley believed that it was only a matter of time before her mother died of a broken heart. in 2023, lisa marie passed away following a cardiac arrest.

okay, that’s it for this chapter. we hope you enjoyed it. if you can, please take the time to leave us a rating – we always appreciate your feedback. see you in the next chapter.