A yet-untitled memoir from Lisa Marie Presley will be published in October, publisher Random House announced on Jan. 11. Unfinished prior to Presley's death in 2023, the memoir will be comprised mostly of Presley's own words, while her daughter, actress Riley Keough, helped flesh out events from her own memories of life with her mother and by speaking to friends and acquaintances close to her.
In a press statement announcing the memoir, Keough added, "Few people had the opportunity to know who my mom really was, other than being Elvis' daughter. I was lucky to have had that opportunity and working on preparing her autobiography for publication has been a privilege, albeit a bittersweet one."
Keough will also narrate the audiobook, which will be released simultaneously with the book on Oct. 15. Preorders are available now at the specially-designed Penguin Random House site lisamariebook.com.
Lisa Marie Presley at the CMA Awards, circa 2012.
Lisa Marie Presley had already begun the process of putting to tape what she hoped would be the unvarnished truth about her life as the only child of Elvis Presley. She had asked her eldest daughter for help in putting together the project, though that work had not yet begun when Presley unexpectedly died of cardiac arrest, brought on by a bowel obstruction from bariatric surgery on January 12, 2023, at 54.
As shocked and confused as anyone, Keough says she bore the weight of the guilt and grief heavier than any family member. With that mindset, Keough sat down and listened to the hours and hours of dictation as Presley recounted the countless hours spent with her father at Graceland, and as she wrote in the 2005 photo-memoir Elvis — By The Presleys with mother Priscilla, life was "filled with energy and excitement."
But there were the downsides, as evidenced by Presley's memories of her father's fluctuating temper, and the difficulty of living a somewhat normal existence while hangers-on and paparazzi would be waiting at the gates. Keough, through the tapes, has also heard about Presley's "complicated" relationship with Priscilla, and her high-profile, short-lived marriages to Michael Jackson and actor Nicholas Cage.
Lisa Marie and Jackson hosted a children's conference at Neverland Ranch in 1995.
One figure that will be mentioned in the memoir, according to the press statement, is Presley's son Benjamin. While Presley was deeply attached to her son, she was equally devastated and shattered when he died by suicide in July 2020 at age 27. There is speculation that while he was unfairly saddled with the aura of his grandfather, the lethal combination of drugs and legacy left him struggling with his identity which came to a tragic end.
Lisa Marie and her son Benjamin Keough, 2015.
In a statement announcing the book, Random House Publishing Group president Sanyu Dillon added: “We are so honored to publish Lisa Marie’s memoir with Riley's thoughtful collaboration. Lisa Marie led a truly singular life, and we know this book, brought to publication with the guidance of her daughter, will be a beautiful legacy not only for her children but for the generations of people who have loved her.”
