Lisa Marie Presley didn't finish her book. That’s the first thing you need to understand. When she passed away in early 2023, she left behind a mountain of cassette tapes—raw, painful, and often scratchy recordings that her daughter, Riley Keough, had to painstakingly transcribe and weave into what we now know as From Here to the Great Unknown. It isn't a polished corporate biography. It’s a conversation between a mother and a daughter across the veil of death.
If you’re expecting a glossy, PR-friendly look at the Presley dynasty, you’re going to be disappointed. Honestly, it’s a lot darker than that.
The Reality of Growing Up a Presley
Most people think they know the story of Graceland. They see the jumpsuits, the gates, and the eccentricities of the King. But in From Here to the Great Unknown, Lisa Marie strips away the myth. She describes herself as a "terror" of a child. It’s kind of wild to read about her roaming the halls of Graceland, knowing she was the center of her father's universe while simultaneously sensing the impending tragedy that hung over the house.
She doesn't hold back on the trauma of finding her father dead. That moment changed everything.
Imagine being nine years old and seeing the biggest star on the planet—your dad—collapsed on a bathroom floor. She writes about the chaos of that day with a clinical, yet heartbreaking clarity. It wasn't just the loss of a parent; it was the loss of a sanctuary. The book makes it clear that she spent the rest of her life trying to find that feeling of safety again. She never really did.
Riley Keough’s Role in Finishing the Story
Riley Keough had a massive task here. She had to take those tapes and find a way to make them a cohesive narrative. The result is a dual perspective. You get Lisa Marie’s voice—deep, raspy, and unfiltered—interspersed with Riley’s reflections.
It works.
It works because Riley isn't trying to fix her mother’s image. She’s just telling the truth. She talks about the periods where Lisa Marie was "gone" even when she was physically there, lost in the fog of opioid addiction. It’s a brave choice. Most celebrity kids would try to bury the messy parts to protect the brand. Riley leans into the mess.
Why From Here to the Great Unknown Hits Differently
This book isn't just about fame. It’s about grief. If you’ve ever lost someone close to you, the chapters about Benjamin Keough, Lisa Marie’s son who died by suicide in 2020, will wreck you.
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There is a specific, haunting detail in the book that has shocked a lot of readers. Lisa Marie kept Ben’s body in a temperature-controlled room in her home for two months before his burial.
That sounds macabre. It sounds like something out of a horror movie. But as you read her explanation, it starts to feel like a desperate, primal act of a mother who simply could not say goodbye. She needed time. She needed to sit with him. She even mentions a moment where they had a tattoo artist come to the house to give Ben a tattoo while he was deceased, matching one she was getting. It’s unsettling, yeah. But it’s also an incredible look at how grief can bend a person’s reality.
Addressing the Scientology Aspect
You can't talk about Lisa Marie without talking about the Church of Scientology. The book covers her eventual break from the organization, which she describes as a slow realization that her life was being controlled.
She felt like they were "bleeding her dry."
It wasn't just about the money, though that was a part of it. It was about the psychological grip. She felt like she was being molded into something she wasn't. When she finally left, it wasn't a clean break; it was a messy, painful divorce from a lifestyle that had defined her for decades. She admits that after leaving, she felt completely untethered.
The Men in Her Life: Beyond the Tabloids
The media loved to obsess over Lisa Marie's marriages. Danny Keough, Michael Jackson, Nicolas Cage, Michael Lockwood.
In From Here to the Great Unknown, she gives a lot of grace to Danny Keough. He was her rock, even after they divorced. But the Michael Jackson sections? Those are the ones people are searching for.
She portrays Jackson not as a caricature, but as a deeply lonely, incredibly talented, and profoundly flawed man. She insists their marriage was real. She talks about the pressure of the public eye and how they bonded over their shared experience of being "hunted" by the world. It’s a nuanced take that contradicts a lot of the cynical tabloid narratives from the 90s.
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Then there’s Nicolas Cage. She describes their relationship as a "bonfire." High intensity, lots of passion, but ultimately destined to burn out quickly because they were too similar. They were both "pirates," as she puts it.
The Struggle with Addiction
We have to talk about the drugs.
Lisa Marie is staggeringly honest about her descent into opioid addiction. It started with a prescription for pain after the birth of her twins in 2008. From there, it spiraled. She talks about the shame of being a mother who couldn't stay awake at the dinner table.
- She describes the physical pain of withdrawal.
- She recounts the numerous stints in rehab.
- She admits to the lies she told her children.
It’s a cautionary tale, but it’s told without the typical "I’m cured now" platitudes. Because the truth is, she was still struggling with the fallout of that addiction and the grief of her son's death right up until her heart stopped in January 2023.
The Technical Reality: How the Book Came Together
People ask if this is a "ghostwritten" book. Not exactly.
Riley Keough used a digital recorder to capture her own memories and then sat with the hundreds of hours of tapes Lisa Marie had recorded for her intended memoir. The structure is non-linear at times, which actually mirrors how memory works. It feels like you’re sitting in a room with them, listening to family stories. Some stories are funny—like Lisa Marie trying to be a "normal" mom and failing miserably—and some are devastating.
The prose is simple. It’s not trying to be "literary."
It’s trying to be heard.
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Fact-Checking the Legacy
There has been some pushback regarding how the estate is handled, but the book stays away from the legal drama between Riley and her grandmother, Priscilla Presley. It focuses on the internal life of the family.
One thing that stands out is the deep, abiding love Lisa Marie had for her father, despite his absence. She never really stopped being that little girl at Graceland. Every decision she made, every mistake she fell into, seemed to be viewed through the lens of being Elvis Presley’s daughter. It was a golden cage.
She spent millions trying to maintain a certain lifestyle, and she lost millions through mismanagement. But the book suggests she didn't care much about the money. She cared about the connection.
Actionable Takeaways for Readers
If you are going to pick up From Here to the Great Unknown, don't just skim it for the Michael Jackson gossip. There is more there.
1. Re-evaluate the Cost of Fame
Look at the photos of Lisa Marie toward the end of her life. The book provides the context for the "tired" look the media mocked. It was the weight of a legacy that no one person was meant to carry.
2. Understand Grief as a Process, Not a Destination
The chapters on Benjamin Keough are a masterclass in the raw, ugly side of mourning. If you are struggling with loss, seeing her "madness" might actually make you feel more sane. It validates the idea that there is no "right" way to grieve.
3. Recognize the Signs of Prescription Dependency
Lisa Marie’s story is a reminder of how quickly a legitimate medical need can turn into a life-shattering addiction. It’s a systemic issue that she highlights through her own personal wreckage.
4. Appreciate the Mother-Daughter Bond
The most important thing to do after reading this book is to call your own family. Riley Keough’s devotion to finishing this project is a testament to a love that survived some of the most toxic environments imaginable.
From Here to the Great Unknown ends on a note that isn't exactly happy, but it is peaceful. It feels like a long-overdue exhale. Lisa Marie Presley finally got to say her piece, on her own terms, without a journalist twisting her words or a camera flash in her eyes. It is a heavy read, but for anyone interested in the reality behind the American royalty, it is absolutely essential.
Go get the audiobook if you can. Hearing the actual tapes of Lisa Marie’s voice makes the experience much more visceral. You can hear the cigarette smoke in her lungs and the exhaustion in her soul. It’s haunting, but it’s the most authentic way to experience her story.