Lisa Marie Presley detailed her opioid addiction in her upcoming memoir, which is set to be released posthumously.
“You may read this and wonder how, after losing people close to me, I also fell prey to opioids,” Presley wrote in an excerpt from the book published by People on Thursday, September 26. “I was recovering after the birth of my daughters, Vivienne and Finley, when a doctor prescribed me opioids for pain.”
From Here to the Great Unknown was written by Presley prior to her death at age 54 in January 2023 after suffering a cardiac arrest. Her daughter Riley Keough finished the book. Presley shared Keough, 35, with ex-husband Danny Keough. They also shared son Benjamin Keough who died at age 27 by suicide in 2020.
Lisa Marie, the late daughter of music icon Elvis Presley, was also the mother of 15-year-old twins Vivienne and Finley, whom she shared with ex-husband Michael Lockwood. After their birth, “a short-term prescription of opioids” led to her addiction, Presley wrote.
“For a couple of years it was recreational and then it wasn’t,” the excerpt reads. “It was an absolute matter of addiction, withdrawal in the big leagues.”
Keough recalled her work on the memoir, during an interview with People published on Thursday, calling Presley’s addiction chapter “incredibly difficult” to write.
“I hope that in an extraordinary circumstance, people relate to a very human experience of love, heartbreak, loss, addiction and family,” Keough told People of her mom’s memoir. “[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.”
People also published the introduction Keough wrote for the book on Wednesday, September 25. The Daisy Jones & The Six actress recalled the “brutally hard” decade before her mother died — and how she agreed to tell Presley’s story.
“I don’t think she fundamentally understood how or why her story should be told,” Keough wrote, in part.
“The last 10 years of her life had been so brutally hard that she was only able to look back on everything through that lens,” Keough continued. “She felt I could have a more holistic view of her life than she could. So, I agreed to help her with it, not thinking much of the commitment, assuming we would write it together over time. A month later, she died.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
