43 pages • 1-hour read
Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis
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Chapter 17-EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of substance use, addiction, illness, and death.
Chapter 17 Summary: “Peace in the Valley”
During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, Navarone tried “to detox on his own” (254), which made him violently ill. Priscilla took him in and stayed with him while he withdrew from fentanyl. It was difficult to watch her son in so much pain. Meanwhile, the family was still grieving Benjamin, and Lisa Marie was suffering. To get away, Navarone went to Brazil to be with his paternal relatives. The respite did him good, but when his former drug dealer contacted him as soon as he returned home, promising a pure strain of heroin, Navarone started using again. Eventually, he wanted to get clean again and Priscilla helped him through detox once more.
A year after Ben’s death, Priscilla’s mother, Annie, died. Priscilla remarks on what a difficult life Annie had, what a wonderful woman she was, and their close relationship. Annie had a difficult marriage, though she gradually learned to set boundaries with Paul, who didn’t like that Annie wanted to be so independent. She often went to Priscilla when she needed a break from his domineering personality. Still, Annie had been devastated when Paul died. Her health “began to deteriorate” (263) soon after. She was 95 when she died, but Priscilla still feels they didn’t have enough time together.
Chapter 18 Summary: “Don’t Be Cruel”
Priscilla considers the many movies made about Elvis. She was skeptical when director Baz Luhrmann first approached her about a new biopic, Elvis (2022), but she liked the script and was pleased with Austin Butler’s casting. When filming started in 2019, he frequently met with her and Lisa Marie, and they became close. Priscilla and Lisa Marie saw the movie and both approved of the portrayals. Butler was nominated for an Oscar for his performance.
After Priscilla published her memoir Elvis and Me (1985), director Sofia Coppola approached her about adapting the book to the screen. Priscilla was unsure, but trusted Coppola and continued working with her. Although Lisa Marie had issues with the script, Priscilla believes it was important the story was presented the way it was. The resulting film, Priscilla (2023), came out after Lisa Marie’s death. Priscilla is disappointed she never got to know Lisa Marie’s true reaction.
Priscilla did other acting and producing work during this time, too. She is most excited by a cartoon reimagining Elvis as a special agent. However, the show only lasted a season. Priscilla has also continued to work with Graceland, where she takes time to meet Elvis fans, understanding that she is their last connection to the iconic singer.
Chapter 19 Summary: “Lights Out”
Like many other families, Priscilla’s family has lived through many tragedies. however, the Presleys’ experiences have been compounded by the fact that everything happened in the spotlight. Losing Lisa Marie was devastating for Priscilla. Many parents in the family had to watch their children die. Priscilla once saw Navarone almost die and witnessed Lisa Marie’s gradual decline.
Priscilla remembers how sick Lisa Marie had been after an alleged cosmetic surgery (which she later learned was a gastric bypass). Lisa had lost significant amounts of weight, had constant stomach issues, and was so weak she could barely walk when she and Priscilla attended the Golden Globe Awards for Elvis. That night, Lisa Marie kept saying she needed to leave because she didn’t feel well. She called Priscilla when she got home—and this was their last conversation. Two days later, Danny called Priscilla: Lisa Marie had been hospitalized. At the hospital, Priscilla feared Lisa Marie was already gone when the rest of the family joined her there. The doctor told them Lisa Marie was only being kept alive by life support. Priscilla made the choice to take her daughter off life support, deciding this honoring the wishes of her once-vibrant daughter. This loss was devastating. Priscilla hopes Lisa Marie is safe in Heaven with her dad.
Chapter 20 Summary: “Midnight”
After Lisa Marie’s death, Priscilla once again found it hard to mourn in the public eye. She describes the funeral service and burial, detailing the eulogies given on Lisa Marie’s behalf. She could feel her daughter’s presence there. She was particularly moved when the husband of Lisa Marie’s daughter Riley read Riley’s statement on her behalf.
Priscilla can’t explain what it is like to lose a child and how much pain it causes her to be without her daughter. She recalls all of her beautiful memories of Lisa Marie, and includes a letter her daughter once wrote to her.
Epilogue Summary: “Raven”
Priscilla found writing the memoir difficult. She remembers watching Priscilla and again comments on how well the adaptation captured her life. She considers all the work she has done, the sorrow she has experienced, and the love she has shared. She closes by recounting a memory of Elvis: After their divorce, he told her he would always love her. She’s had an eventful life in the years since, which her teenage self never could have imagined.
Chapter 17-Epilogue Analysis
Priscilla assumes a reflective tone in the final chapters of her memoir to offer resolution to her overarching account. Most of Softly, As I Leave You takes a narrative approach, sharing personal anecdotes and vulnerable experiences to invite the reader into her intimate experience. In this section, however, Priscilla pulls back to offer insights she has gleaned over the years. The Epilogue is particularly focused on a broader perspective, opening with the assertion that “It is a difficult thing to tell the story of your life” (313). This creates room for Priscilla to discuss having to relive her experiences by putting her story into words. The overarching remarks distill the memoir’s primary theme, reiterating how her decision to divorce Elvis empowered her and challenged her to grow.
The book’s ending also speaks to the Generational Nature of Trauma. Writing the memoir meant Priscilla was “Reliving the trauma in my life” (315)—Navarone’s addiction, lingering mourning over Benjamin, Annie’s death, and Lisa Marie’s illness and death—a process that complicated her sense of self, of reality, and of truth. When detailing her many trials, Priscilla does not spare details. She describes each experience with painstaking precision, including the sensory and emotional aspects of watching her son detox, staying by her mother’s deathbed, and attending her daughter’s funeral. The close attention she gives to rendering these events doubles her grief, as she both accesses her memories and re-experiences the events throughout retelling. This adds to the cyclical nature of trauma in the book, presenting the recurring pain that affects one generation and the next repeatedly.
Nevertheless, Priscilla refuses to let the pain she has experienced diminish her expression of joy. Her ability to balance suffering and happiness reinforces her subtextual message about the importance of having the agency to choose. For Priscilla, making her own way meant leaving “the love of my life” (317). To endure her many losses, Priscilla looks forward to the positive things life has to offer:
Though I have suffered deep losses, I choose to focus on what remains. It gets me through the bad days. I lost my mother, but I carry on her spirit and her traditions. I lost my daughter, but I still have a son who loves me deeply. I lost my grandson, but I have three remarkable, loving granddaughters who give my life meaning (316).
This passage exemplifies Priscilla’s approach to living a fulfilled and empowered life. Each loss and tragedy she experiences is coupled with another blessing—a silver lining of legacy and remembrance that empowers her forward progress. While Priscilla’s story is one of grief, it is also a story of triumph and redemption.
Priscilla closes the memoir with one final bittersweet memory of her and Elvis. Priscilla has never regretted leaving Elvis, but maintains that she has also always loved him. The image of Elvis professing his enduring love for Priscilla before walking out of her house conveys this dynamic. In parting ways, Priscilla created a new life that both honored their time together and offered her the freedom to be her own person.
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