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Louise Thomas
Editor
Lisa Marie Presley’s posthumous memoir apparently reveals the extent of her grief over the death of her son, Benjamin Keough.
The late singer, who was the only child of singer Elvis Presley and actor/singer Priscilla Presley, died in January last year, aged 54.
Her daughter, actor and musician Riley Keough, completed the book – titled From Here to the Great Unknown – in the months after her death.
In one chapter, Presley is said to disclose that she was so heartbroken over Benjamin’s death that she kept his body in her home for two months, as she struggled to decide where to bury him.
Benjamin, the younger brother of Riley, was shared by Presley and her first husband, musician Danny Keough, before their divorce in 1994. He took his own life in 2020, aged 27.
Page Six reports that she explained how she had to force herself to “fight” to remain alive for the sake of her surviving children, Riley, 35, and twin daughters Harper and Finley Lockwood, now 16.
“There is no law in the state of California that you have to bury someone immediately,” Presley wrote, revealing that she kept her son in the bedroom of a casita – a small building separate to the main property.
“I found a very empathetic funeral home owner… She said, ‘We’ll bring Ben Ben to you.’”
Riley and her mother decided to honour Benjamin by getting tattoos that matched his – he had his sister’s name inscribed on his collarbone, and his mother’s on his hand. They called a tattooist to look at Benjamin’s body so he could match the font and placement.
Riley reportedly writes in the memoir: “Lisa Marie Presley had just asked this poor man to look at the body of her dead son, which happened to be right next to us in the casitas.
“I’ve had an extremely absurd life, but this moment is in the top five.”
Soon after they got their tattoos, Riley recalled everyone getting the sense that Benjamin wanted to be laid to rest.
“Even my mom said that she could feel him talking to her, saying, ‘This is insane, mom, what are you doing? What the f***!” she wrote.
Benamin’s funeral was held in Malibu, with a ceremony led by Indian-American author Deepak Chopra. He was buried at Graceland alongside his grandfather; Lisa Marie was later buried next to him, too.
In an interview with People, Riley said that her mother died of “broken heart” after Benjamin’s death. She died of natural causes; a medical examiner determined a small bowel obstruction caused her cardiac arrest.
“My mom tried her best to find strength for me and my younger sisters after Ben died, but we knew how much pain she was in,” Riley said. “My mom physically died from the after-effects of her surgery, but we all knew she died of a broken heart.”
From Here to the Great Unknown is out now.
If you have been affected by the issues addressed in this article, you can contact the following organisations for support: mind.org.uk, nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth, mentalhealth.org.uk, samaritans.org.
