The Moment Riley Keough ‘Burst Into Tears’ Finishing Her Mother Lisa Marie Presley’s Memoir

Riley Keough is opening up to People magazine about the painful task of completing her mother Lisa Marie Presley’s memoir “From Here to the Great Unknown.”

Lisa Marie tragically passed away in 2023 at just 54 years old from a small-bowel obstruction related to a past bariatric surgery.

The singer’s book was already underway when she died, but Presley was struggling to complete it, and had asked for Riley’s help.

Keough told People in an email, "Because my mother was Elvis Presley’s daughter, she was constantly talked about, argued over and dissected. What she wanted to do in her memoir, and what I hope I’ve done in finishing it for her, is to go beneath the magazine headline idea of her and reveal the core of who she was. To turn her into a three-dimensional human being: the best mother, a wild child, a fierce friend, an underrated artist, frank, funny, traumatized, joyous, grieving, everything that she was throughout her remarkable life. I want to give voice to my mother in a way that eluded her while she was alive.”

While working on the memoir, Lisa Marie had sat down for recorded book interviews, and through those tapes and her own memories, Riley was able to finish the memoir.

“The tapes are an incredible portrait of the force of nature that she was,” Riley said. “Depending on the day and her mood, she can sound locked-in or distracted, vulnerable and open or annoyed and closed off, hopeful, angry, everything. You hear her in all her complications.”

Riley also shared the introduction to the book with People and the excerpt reveals just how hard it was for the 35-year-old to listen to those tapes.

She recalled, “I was so afraid to hear my mother’s voice — the physical connection we have to the voices of our loved ones is profound. I decided to lie in my bed because I know how heavy grief makes my body feel… I began listening to her speak.”

Keough continued, “It was incredibly painful but I couldn’t stop. It was like she was in the room, talking to me. I instantly felt like a child again and I burst into tears. My mommy. The tone of her voice.”

Lisa Marie was the only child of Elvis and Priscilla Presley. She went on to have four kids of her own, including Riley and her brother Benjamin with ex-husband Danny Keough. Benjamin died by suicide in 2020 at just 27 years old.

She was also the mother of twins Finley and Harper with ex-husband Michael Lockwood. The girls are now 15.

Riley told People of her mother’s book, “I hope that in an extraordinary circumstance, people relate to a very human experience of love, heartbreak, loss, addiction and family. [My mom] wanted to write a book in the hopes that someone could read her story and relate to her, to know that they’re not alone in the world. Her hope with this book was just human connection. So that’s mine.”