From Here to the Great Unknown

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of substance use, addiction, and illness or death.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. How did reading the perspectives of both Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough affect your experience of the memoir? What insights does this mother-daughter collaboration provide that a single perspective couldn’t capture?

2. From Here to the Great Unknown presents a raw portrait of a family living in the shadow of Elvis Presley’s legacy. How does this memoir compare to other celebrity memoirs you’ve read, such as Jean Kennedy Smith’s The Nine of Us or Paris Hilton’s Paris: The Memoir? What makes this memoir distinctive in its approach to fame?

3. The memoir balances moments of profound joy with devastating tragedy. Which aspects of Lisa Marie’s life story resonated with you most powerfully, and why do you think those particular elements had such an impact?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Lisa Marie describes always feeling a sense of unworthiness and self-doubt, despite her privilege and fame. When have you experienced a disconnect between how others perceive your life and your internal emotional reality?

2. Throughout the memoir, Lisa struggles with trust issues, often feeling that people only wanted to be close to her because of her fame. When have you questioned someone’s motives for being in your life, and how did that affect your relationships?

3. Riley describes being “the responsible one” in her family (245). How have you navigated playing a specific role in your family or social circle, and how has that shaped your identity?

4. The memoir portrays Lisa Marie’s attempt to create an idyllic childhood for her children despite her own struggles. How have your parents’ efforts to provide for you emotionally and materially shaped your approach to life’s challenges? How did being shielded (or not) in this way in childhood affect you as an adult?

5. Lisa Marie and Riley both discuss how differently they cope with grief. Lisa never fully processed her father’s death, while Riley learned to “hold joy and suffering […] simultaneously” (256) after losing her brother. How has your approach to handling loss evolved over time?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The memoir examines the darker side of celebrity culture and the toll it takes on those in the spotlight. How has our society’s relationship with celebrity changed since Elvis’s era, and what parallels do you see between Lisa Marie’s experiences and those of public figures today?

2. Lisa Marie’s addiction experience is framed partly as genetic inheritance and partly as a response to trauma. How have attitudes toward addiction and mental health evolved from Elvis’s era to today? 

3. Throughout the memoir, Lisa Marie fights to be seen as her own person rather than just “Elvis’s daughter.” In what ways do you see society still defining individuals by their relationships rather than their own accomplishments?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. The memoir emphasizes that family legacy often feels inescapable as dysfunctional cycles repeat through generations. How do the authors use specific examples to illustrate these patterns? What do they suggest about breaking destructive cycles?

2. Riley gradually takes over the narrative as the memoir progresses. How does this reinforce the book’s focus on inheritance? What effect does it have on the reader’s experience?

3. Graceland functions as both a physical location and a symbolic space throughout the text. How does this setting relate to ideas about childhood innocence, public versus private life, and the weight of legacy?

4. The memoir contrasts Lisa Marie’s marriages to Danny Keough and Michael Jackson to illustrate her complex relationship with fame. How do these relationships reveal her internal conflicts about her own celebrity and her desire for normalcy?

5. Lisa Marie creates her own version of Graceland for her children, mirroring her idyllic childhood memories with her father. Does recreating the past help or hinder her struggle to reconcile her identity as both Elvis’s daughter and her own person?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Which musical style and collaborators would have best expressed Lisa Marie’s authentic voice, freeing her from the shadow of her Elvis’s famous work?

2. How would the Presley-Keough family story translate to film or television? What visual elements would best capture the generational patterns described in the memoir?

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