Louisiana Inspired Book Club to discuss Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough memoir

The first book for the 2025 Louisiana Inspired Book Club is “From Here to the Great Unknown,” a mother/daughter memoir unlike any other, mostly because of its two authors, Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough. While this pick may be a surprising choice, we like to switch things up a bit and believe this memoir has plenty to discuss. The virtual Book Club discussion will take place at 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18. To join the book talk, go to.www.youtube.com/live/1dTO8HQ5l2U?feature=shared.

The Inspired Book Club team will also create a discussion guide in case you and your friends would like to hold in-person discussions. This nonfiction selection is based on an incomplete draft written by Presley. A month before Presley died, she asked her daughter to help her finish her memoir. Keough gives context to her mother’s perspective while using Presley’s audio recordings to piece together more of her mother’s narrative. Keough intersperses the manuscript with her own thoughts, explanations and memories.

The book uses different fonts to distinguish Lisa Marie Presley’s perspective and telling from Keough’s explanations. It’s a technique that is surprisingly effective. The audiobook is just as captivating with Julia Roberts narrating Lisa Marie’s words and Keough reading her own words. Presley’s actual audio recordings are sprinkled throughout the audiobook.

“From Here to the Great Unknown” explores the universal themes of resilience, loss and self-discovery. Their personal stories and challenges can foster empathy. The mother/daughter dynamic and explanation of events create relatable and thought-provoking fodder for discussions.

While Elvis Presley grew up in Mississippi and is widely associated with Memphis, he got his start and gained recognition in Louisiana.

Here is an excerpt from the memoir:

Presley: Danny came to find me.

“Let’s talk,” he said. “What happened?”

“Well, I said, “Michael (Jackson) asked me to leave you and marry him and have children with him.”

“What did you say?”

“I said nothing.”

“That’s it, then,” Danny said. “That’s it. Forget it.”

And then Danny packed his bags, got the dog, and drove out the da** gate.

Gone.

Keough: I was sitting on my mom’s lap in a hotel room in Clearwater, Florida, when she told me she and my dad were getting divorced. I was hysterical, sobbing uncontrollably because I thought it meant that he wasn’t my dad anymore.

“No, no, of course he is your dad,” my mom said.

“That day, Ben found one of her bright red lipsticks and drew a long line all along the wall. He always loved to play with her makeup, but this time he was going to be in so much trouble.

“I’m going to tell on you,” I said, and I did.

I remember hearing Ben being yelled at in the other room and him crying, and I felt so guilty. I carried that guilt, the guilt of being an older sibling, for years.