Lisa Marie Presley’s forthcoming memoir, which was unfinished at the time of her death last year, has been completed with help from her daughter Riley Keough.
Presley, the only child of rock’n’roll icon Elvis Presley, died last year at the age of 54 following complications from bariatric surgery.
Her daughter Keough, 34, was the star of Seventies-set music drama Daisy Jones And The Six. She said in a statement: “Few people had the opportunity to know who my mom really was, other than being Elvis’s 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.
“I’m so excited to share my mom now, at her most vulnerable and most honest, and in doing so, I do hope that readers come to love my mom as much as I did.”
Keough is the sole trustee of her mother’s estate and now owns Graceland, Elvis’ estate in Memphis, Tennessee. She will record the audiobook version of the memoir.
Riley Keough and Lisa Marie Presley attend Elle’s Women in Hollywood Celebration in 2017— (Getty Images for ELLE)
The book, which is as yet untitled, has been described by publishers Macmillan as a “raw, riveting, one-of-a-kind memoir” that will “lift the veil on one of America’s most storied families, sharing intimate memories of Lisa Marie’s remarkable, tumultuous life while offering a poignant exploration of the bonds between a mother and daughter.”
The audiobook will also include never-before-heard recollections in Presley’s own voice.
Presley asked Keough to help her finish her memoir before her death. While Keough delayed the project at the time, she later listened to hours of tapes recorded for the book.
The tapes included “story after story about the unconditional love she felt from her father, about being upstairs at Graceland, just the two of them, a sanctuary from the chaos of her life”.
They also include insight into Presley’s relationship with her mother Priscilla, her life in the spotlight and her marriages to Michael Jackson and Nicolas Cage, as well as her own experiences of motherhood and the devastating loss of her son Benjamin to suicide.
The book would be composed mostly of Presley’s words, in her voice, with Keough “filling in the blanks from her own memory and those closest to her mother”, according to the publisher.
Macmillan publishing director Sara Cywinski said: “It’s a great privilege that Riley has entrusted us with publishing her mother’s life story to fulfil her wish of giving a voice to Lisa Marie in a way that mostly eluded her when she was alive.
“I was deeply moved by both of their eloquent words and powerful storytelling, and I’m so very glad that there is an opportunity for the world to see Lisa Maria as Riley, and those closest to her, saw her.
“And, too, for the generations to come to understand the complexity of being a Presley. It’s an honour for us to publish this very special book.”
The book and accompanying audiobook will be published on October 15.
Additional reporting by Press Association
