From Here to the Great Unknown: Oprah's Book Club: A Memoir
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • Born to an American myth and raised in the wilds of Graceland, Lisa Marie Presley tells her whole story for the first time in this raw, riveting, one-of-a-kind memoir faithfully completed by her daughter, Riley Keough.
A PEOPLE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
In 2022, Lisa Marie Presley asked her daughter to help finally finish her long-gestating memoir.
A month later, Lisa Marie was dead, and the world would never know her story in her own words, never know the passionate, joyful, caring, and complicated woman that Riley loved and now grieved.
Riley got the tapes that her mother had recorded for the book, lay in her bed, and listened as Lisa Marie told story after story about smashing golf carts together in the yards of Graceland, about the unconditional love she felt from her father, about being upstairs, just the two of them. About getting dragged screaming out of the bathroom as she ran toward his body on the floor. About living in Los Angeles with her mother, getting sent to school after school, always kicked out, always in trouble. About her singular, lifelong relationship with Danny Keough, about being married to Michael Jackson, what they had in common. About motherhood. About deep addiction. About ever-present grief. Riley knew she had to fulfill her mother’s wish to reveal these memories, incandescent and painful, to the world.
To make her mother known.
This extraordinary book is written in both Lisa Marie’s and Riley’s voices, a mother and daughter communicating—from this world to the one beyond—as they try to heal each other. Profoundly moving and deeply revealing, From Here to the Great Unknown is a book like no other—the last words of the only child of an American icon.
A PEOPLE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
In 2022, Lisa Marie Presley asked her daughter to help finally finish her long-gestating memoir.
A month later, Lisa Marie was dead, and the world would never know her story in her own words, never know the passionate, joyful, caring, and complicated woman that Riley loved and now grieved.
Riley got the tapes that her mother had recorded for the book, lay in her bed, and listened as Lisa Marie told story after story about smashing golf carts together in the yards of Graceland, about the unconditional love she felt from her father, about being upstairs, just the two of them. About getting dragged screaming out of the bathroom as she ran toward his body on the floor. About living in Los Angeles with her mother, getting sent to school after school, always kicked out, always in trouble. About her singular, lifelong relationship with Danny Keough, about being married to Michael Jackson, what they had in common. About motherhood. About deep addiction. About ever-present grief. Riley knew she had to fulfill her mother’s wish to reveal these memories, incandescent and painful, to the world.
To make her mother known.
This extraordinary book is written in both Lisa Marie’s and Riley’s voices, a mother and daughter communicating—from this world to the one beyond—as they try to heal each other. Profoundly moving and deeply revealing, From Here to the Great Unknown is a book like no other—the last words of the only child of an American icon.
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Community Reviews
thenextgoodbook.com
What’s it about?
This memoir was begun by Lisa Marie Presley and finished after her death by her daughter Riley Keough. The book runs chronologically with interspersed segments—some by Lisa Marie Presley and some by Riley Keough. The passages are in different fonts, which helps differentiate between the two authors. Even though Riley Keough shares her memories- this is a memoir about Lisa Marie Presley.
What did it make me think about?
Wow, this is not what I expected…..
Should I read it?
If you read books to learn about different worlds, this story should appeal to you. I knew who Lisa Marie Presley was, but I had never thought much about her life. I don’t think of myself as someone who is that interested in celebrities, but this book is about much more than that. I found the last third of the book the most compelling. This is a raw, sad story of generational addiction and grief. This book literally flew by. Read it!
Quote-
“When I tell people my stories, they tell me I’m strong. But that makes me crazy because I think, What’s it for though? Throw stuff at me and I’ll get through it, but for what? What does the strength matter? It doesn’t matter to me.”
What’s it about?
This memoir was begun by Lisa Marie Presley and finished after her death by her daughter Riley Keough. The book runs chronologically with interspersed segments—some by Lisa Marie Presley and some by Riley Keough. The passages are in different fonts, which helps differentiate between the two authors. Even though Riley Keough shares her memories- this is a memoir about Lisa Marie Presley.
What did it make me think about?
Wow, this is not what I expected…..
Should I read it?
If you read books to learn about different worlds, this story should appeal to you. I knew who Lisa Marie Presley was, but I had never thought much about her life. I don’t think of myself as someone who is that interested in celebrities, but this book is about much more than that. I found the last third of the book the most compelling. This is a raw, sad story of generational addiction and grief. This book literally flew by. Read it!
Quote-
“When I tell people my stories, they tell me I’m strong. But that makes me crazy because I think, What’s it for though? Throw stuff at me and I’ll get through it, but for what? What does the strength matter? It doesn’t matter to me.”
From Here to the Great Unknown was raw, emotional, and beautifully honest. I loved the dual voices of Lisa Marie and Riley—it felt so personal. Heartbreaking at times, especially around grief and addiction, but also filled with love and resilience. A moving read.
I enjoyed this book a lot. It was honest and insightful. Riley Keough does a wonderful job weaving her story with her mother's, keeping both voices uniquely their own. Separate fonts helped, too. I could hear each of their voices telling the tales, often with raw emotion blending the words together.
Absolutely beautiful. I loved the Presley family. I was a little girl. I was so sad when Lisa Marie Presley passed away in 2023. Her daughter Riley did a beautiful job writing this book.
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