Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Discuss your overall impressions of Softly, As I Leave You. What were your favorite and least favorite aspects of the memoir, and why?

2. How did your experience reading Softly, As I Leave You compare to your experience reading Priscilla Presley’s first memoir Elvis and Me: The True Story of the Love Between Priscilla Presley and the King of Rock N’ Roll (2023)? How did this memoir complicate your perception of Priscilla from her last book?

3. Compare and contrast Priscilla’s memoir to other celebrity memoirs. For example, what stylistic or thematic overlaps do you notice between Priscilla’s title and titles like Barbra Streisand’s My Name Is Barbra (2023) or Britney Spears’s The Woman In Me (2023)?

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

1. Discuss your responses to Priscilla’s description of her marriage to Elvis Presley. How does their now-antiquated dynamic compare and contrast to your own relationship expectations or experiences?

2. How do you interpret Priscilla’s decision to leave Elvis? If you were in the same position, what would you do differently or similarly, and why? Have you ever had to make the difficult decision to leave something or someone that you loved?

3. Priscilla describes her encounters with loss and grief in depth. How do her trials resonate with your own? What life lessons did you garner from her account of suffering?

4. Priscilla devotes large swaths of the memoir to her family life. How does her relationship with her children align with or diverge from your own familial relationships?

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

1. The memoir explores female autonomy and empowerment via Priscilla’s decision to leave Elvis and start her own life. Analyze Softly, As I Leave You from a feminist standpoint. Does the story disrupt or reinforce gender stereotypes?

2. Priscilla’s account explores the impact of trauma and addiction. How does her memoir act as a work of activism in the context of the contemporary opioid crisis? How does her exploration of the Generational Nature of Trauma relate to the contemporary loneliness epidemic?

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

1. How does Priscilla’s use of chronology, titling, and flashback further her themes? How would the memoir resonate differently if structured in an alternate manner?

2. Compare Priscilla’s romantic relationships with Elvis, Michael Edwards, Elie Ezerzer, Robert Kardashian, and Marco Garibaldi. How did each relationship impact her differently and what did they teach her about love, partnership, and herself?

3. What roles do Lisa Marie and Navarone play in the memoir? Why does Priscilla devote so much time and attention to her children’s stories? How would her account differ if she excluded the in-depth details about her daughter and son?

4. Identify three symbols not explored in the guide and discuss their relevance to the memoir’s themes. For example, what might her company, Bis and Beau; the text, The Book of Numbers; and the documentary film, The Searcher, represent, and how do they advance Priscilla’s explorations of autonomy, trauma, or legacy?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Imagine that you are adapting Softly, As I Leave You into a documentary. How would you structure the film? Which scenes might you dramatize and which key figures could you interview?

2. Create a playlist that captures the mood and themes of the memoir. Would you include Elvis’s, Lisa Marie’s, or Navarone’s music? Why or why not? Consider how particular songs or musical genres might represent different eras of Priscilla’s life. Share your playlists and discuss your reasoning behind each song you chose.