In her newly published memoir From Here to the Great Unknown, Lisa Marie Presley shares deeply personal details about how she coped with the tragic death of her son, Benjamin Keough, in 2020. The book, completed by her daughter, actress Riley Keough, after Lisa Marie’s death, reveals that Presley kept Benjamin’s body at her Los Angeles home for two months following his passing.
Benjamin, who was 27 when he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, was kept on dry ice in a separate bedroom at their home. Presley explained in the memoir that having his body nearby allowed her to have more time to say goodbye, a process she felt was necessary for her healing. She reflected on how she had done something similar after the death of her father, Elvis Presley, in 1977, when she was only nine years old.
“There is no law in California that requires someone to be buried immediately,” Presley wrote. “I felt fortunate that I could still care for him and delay the burial until I was ready.”
Presley’s daughter, Riley, also shared that her mother wanted to keep Benjamin at home to feel closer to him and that both mother and daughter would sit with him during that time. They even brought a tattoo artist to the house to recreate Benjamin’s tattoos on themselves, as a way of feeling connected to him.
Lisa Marie and Benjamin are now both buried at Graceland, alongside her father, Elvis Presley. Reflecting on the emotional experience, Lisa Marie wrote, “I needed that time with him. It was a way for me to continue to parent him, even after death, until I was ready to say goodbye.”
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