Elvis Presley left behind a legacy that his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, has carried through into her career. She was his only child, although she is a mother of four. Recently, she opened up about the grief she experienced when her son took his own life a few years back. The essay she wrote was published in People magazine.
Lisa Marie Presley writes about grief.
This past August, 54-year-old singer and songwriter Lisa Marie Presley wrote an essay for People magazine in honor of “National Grief Awareness Day.” Her words were based on her own son’s suicide in 2020. Benjamin Keough was 27 years old, and the grief was almost too much for Lisa. In the first paragraph, Lisa tells the readers what her intention is behind her words.
“Today is “National Grief Awareness Day,” and since I have been living in the horrific reality of its unrelenting grips since my son’s death two years ago,” she wrote. “I thought I would share a few things to be aware of in regard to grief for anyone who is interested. If not to help yourself but maybe to help another who is grieving ….”
Grief is not a topic that comes easily to people, which Lisa Marie Presley made sure she was aware of. However, she feels is prudent to talk about this difficult aspect of life. “This is not a comfortable subject for anyone, and it is most unpopular to talk about. This is quite long, potentially triggering and very hard to confront. But if we’re going make any progress on the subject, grief has to get talked about. I’m sharing my thoughts in the hopes that somehow, we can change that.”
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Take your time with grief.
The words of Lisa Marie Presley were plenty, and she highlighted some crucial truths. One of them is, how your family and friends will be there for you at the start, but as life goes on, they expect you to be as well. This makes the grieving process a lonely one. So, he urged the readers to reach out to anyone who may have lost a loved one.
“Grief is incredibly lonely,” she wrote. “Despite people coming in the heat of the moment to be there for you right after the loss takes place, they soon disappear and go on with their own lives and they kind of expect for you to do the same, especially after some time has passed. This includes “family” as well. If you’re incredibly lucky, less than a handful will remain in contact with you after the first month or so. Unfortunately, that is a cold hard truth for most. So, if you know someone who lost a loved one, regardless of how long it’s been, please call them to see how they are doing. Go visit them. They will really really appreciate it, more than you know …“
“We do want to talk about them”
Lisa Marie Presley gave some sound advice based on her family’s grieving experience. Firstly, she mentioned how she hoped her words inspire people to reach out to their friends who might be grieving.
“I’m saying all this, on this particular day, ‘National Grief Awareness Day,’ in the hopes that I can help raise some awareness of grief and loss,” wrote Lisa. “Just know after this day passes, for all your friends who have had a loved one die, every day is grief awareness day. I’m saying this, in the hopes that it helps someone who is suffering as I and my children suffer. In the hopes that maybe today or as soon as possible, you can reach out to someone who is grieving someone they loved and lost. Whether they lost a child, a parent, a spouse, a sibling, a fiancé, anyone.“
Several years ago, on Mother's Day, my son and I got these matching tattoos on our feet. It’s a Celtic eternity knot. Symbolizing that we will be connected eternally. We carefully picked it to represent our eternal love and our eternal bond. 💔😞 pic.twitter.com/FJlJFPzS4W
— Lisa Marie Presley (@LisaPresley) July 12, 2022
Secondly, she said it’s important for the grieving to feel free to talk about their lost loved one. This helps keep their memory alive. “Ask them how they’re doing, ask them to talk about their person. Yes! We DO want to talk about them,” she wrote. “That’s how we keep them alive in our hearts, that’s how they don’t get forgotten, that is what keeps us alive as well. And do me a favor, don’t tell them that “you can’t imagine” their pain. The truth is, oh yes you can — you just don’t want to.“
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