By Ella Karoline Hendricks 

Trigger Warning: This book review mentions suicide, drug addiction, and death. 

America has had an infatuation with the Presley family since Elvis hit the music scene in the 1950s, quickly becoming a worldwide sensation. Known as the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley and his music became a household name, an obsession with him and his family never dimming since.  

Published posthumously, Lisa Marie Presley’s memoir offers a unique look into the life of Elvis’ only daughter. The memoir blends transcripts of Lisa Marie’s voice and outlook on her life with sections of her daughter Riley Keough talking about their relationship. In chapters, the voices of Presley and Keough are sectioned and differentiated with fonts.

“From Here to the Great Unknown” was released Oct. 8 and instantly became a New York Times bestseller. The memoir explores themes of motherhood, grief and the circular nature of family dynamics through the lens of America’s princess. 

Born to Elvis and Pricilla Presley, Lisa Marie grew up in the spotlight living at Graceland, the famous Presley home located in Memphis, Tennessee. The memoir begins with an introduction by Keough, where she explains that her mother had been planning on telling her story before her death, and Keough felt it was her duty to see it through. 

The book details early aspects of Lisa Marie’s life, from her childhood at Graceland to the traumatic loss of her father. To many, Elvis was a larger-than-life icon, yet Lisa Marie got to see her father in all of his humanity, with his triumphs and struggles. The language in which she talks about Elvis is similar to how her mother, Priscilla discusses him in her memoir, “Elvis and Me.” Both describe him as a god-like figure, with an enigmatic presence over any room or situation. It speaks to the presence of her father in her life, even after his untimely death. 

“He was a god to me. A chosen human being.” said Lisa Marie on page 5 of “From Here to the Great Unknown.”

Elvis tragically died of complications from drug use and addiction, which impacted the lives of those around him greatly, especially his young daughter. Lisa Marie talks about his funeral and her following tumultuous teenage years, filled with a complicated relationship with her mom, drug use and religion. 

The first five chapters of the book are written heavily in Lisa Marie’s voice, with few interjections from her daughter, offering more insight into her life and how these events affected her. As the book progresses, Keough’s voice becomes more powerful as she reflects on her mother’s life from an adult perspective. 

The book follows Lisa Marie’s life chronologically, discussing her marriages, relationships and children as well as her music career. While on paper everything looked great, she struggled with insecurities and attachment; she seemed to carry a sadness with her that permeated her life. Her daughter wrote she thinks she never really got over her father’s passing, the death of Elvis really impacting the remainder of her life. 

This idea of familial loss speaks to the memoir’s overarching themes of repetitive family dynamics; it is shown throughout the book that Lisa Marie’s relationship with her father mirrored the relationship Elvis had with his mom, Gladys, and how her relationship with her son, Benjamin, mirrored theirs as well.

Keough wrote on Page 159, “Just as Elvis had with his mother, and my mom had with Elvis, my brother and my mother had a kind of ‘I can’t live without you’ relationship. They shared a very deep soul bond.”

Motherhood was deeply important to Lisa Marie, not only with her son but with  her three daughters as well. 

“I was married at twenty, a mother at twenty-one, similar to my own mother,” Lisa Marie said on Page 120. “ I fell in love with being a mom. I realized I had been called to care for something else.” 

“From Here to the Great Unknown”  also shows how Lisa Marie’s life echoed her mom’s, especially as a teenager in her first relationship to an older man. Priscilla was 14 when she first started dating Elvis, and similarly, Lisa Marie got involved with an older man when she was underage. 

“But it was also history repeating itself,” Lisa Marie said on page 91. “My mom was fourteen when she met my dad. I was replaying her life in a weird way.”

This family cycle continued in other aspects of Lisa Marie’s life as she grew up, as she ultimately struggled with addiction as her father did. She began relying on drug use later in life, reflecting on how it can happen to anyone at any time. Keough wrote about how this was a hard time in both of their lives and how hard it was to watch her mother struggle. It only seemed to isolate Lisa Marie more, despite the family’s best efforts to stay close. She ultimately chose to go to rehab and get better.

The final part of the book reflects on Keough’s younger brother Benjamin’s death. Benjamin died by suicide in July 2020, and the memoir greatly discusses how his death affected the family. This section is mainly written by Keough and discusses how deeply his death affected Lisa Marie and herself. Keough emphasized the close relationship her mom and Benjamin had and how deeply the grief set in. 

“When Ben died, I thought it would be a matter of hours until my mother relapsed. But she surprised me and remained completely sober to honor him” Keough wrote, page 248.

Lisa Marie Presley died on Jan. 12, 2023, leaving behind her three daughters. The memoir was completed by Keough as a final goodbye to her mother and a way to make sure her story is heard. It is narrated in a way only a loved one can, with love and affection and loss haunting each word. Heartfelt and raw, “From Here to the Great Unknown” is a lovely tribute to a life well lived from the view of those who matter most: family.