Singer and daughter of Elvis Presley, Lisa Marie Presley, is opening up about dealing with grief after her son’s death.
Tuesday was “National Grief Awareness Day” and Lisa Marie Presley wrote a heartfelt essay obtained by People about the “horrific reality” of losing her son and also helping others who also may be grieving.
“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, 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,” she wrote.
Lisa Marie Presley also wrote about the importance of talking about grief when you lose someone.
“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,” she wrote.
Continuing, Lisa Marie Presley wrote:
“Death is part of life whether we like it or not — and so is grieving. There is so much to learn and understand on the subject, but here’s what I know so far: One is that grief does not stop or go away in any sense, a year, or years after the loss. Grief is something you will have to carry with you for the rest of your life, in spite of what certain people or our culture wants us to believe. You do not ‘get over it,’ you do not ‘move on,’ period.”
She continued to write: “Two, grief is incredibly lonely. 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,” she wrote. “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.”
Lisa Marie Presley added:
“Three, and particularly if the loss was premature, unnatural, or tragic, you will become a pariah in a sense. You can feel stigmatized and perhaps judged in some way as to why the tragic loss took place. This becomes magnetized by a million if you are the parent of a child who passed. No matter how old they were. No matter the circumstances.”
In 2020, Lisa Marie Presley’s son, Benjamin Keough, died by suicide, per reports. He was 27 years old.
In an Instagram post to promote the new Elvis biopic that was released in August 2022, Lisa Marie Presley briefly opened up about taking time away to mourn the loss of her son. Lisa Marie Presley is also the mother of twin girls, Harper and Finley, and actress Riley Keough.
“Hello everyone, I haven’t posted in quite some time because there really isn’t much to say, as I am and will forever be mourning the loss of my son. Navigating through this hideous grief that absolutely destroyed and shattered my heart and my soul into almost nothing has swallowed me whole.
Not much else aside from my other 3 children gets my time and attention anymore,” she wrote.
She added, “However, that being said, I do want to take a moment to let you know that I have seen Baz Luhrmann’s movie ‘Elvis’ twice now, and let me tell you that it is nothing short of spectacular. Absolutely exquisite.”
