Lisa Marie Presley kept her son Benjamin's body on dry ice in her home for two months after his death so she could properly say goodbye, her new memoir says.
Presley began writing her memoir, "From Here to the Great Unknown," and her daughter Riley Keough finished it for her after Presley's own death in 2023 at age 54 from a small bowel obstruction. In it, Presley explains why she kept her son's body in her house.
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Benjamin died by suicide at age 27, leaving Presley “completely heartbroken, inconsolable and beyond devastated,” according to a statement her representatives gave TODAY at the time.
In her memoir, Presley writes that she decided to keep Benjamin's body on dry ice for two months after his death, in the bedroom of a seperate guest house at her Los Angeles home.
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“There is no law in the state of California that you have to bury someone immediately,” Presley writes.
Keough goes on to explain her mother's decision in the book, noting that she wanted "ample time to say goodbye" to her son like she did with her dad, Elvis Presley.
When Elvis died, his open casket was kept in his Graceland estate for about two months before he was buried on the property.
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“I went down to where he was lying in the casket, just to be with him, to touch his face and hold his hand, to talk to him,” Presley, who was 9 when her father died, writes in her memoir. “I asked him, ‘Why is this happening? Why are you doing this?’”
Presley said she "didn't know what to do with (her) grief," but that having her dad's body in the house helped her.
“Having my dad in the house after he died was incredibly helpful because I could go and spend time with him and talk to him,” she writes.
Her memoir is not the only time Presley has opened up about grieving her son. In 2022, she published an essay in People on National Grief Awareness Day.
“Death is part of life whether we like it or not — and so is grieving,” she wrote in the essay. “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,” she continued. “You do not ‘get over it,’ you do not ‘move on,’ period.”
Shortly before the “Elvis” film by Baz Luhrmann came out in 2022, Presley opened up on social media about how her son’s death had affected her.
“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,” she ssaid on Instagram. “Navigating through this hideous grief that absolutely destroyed and shattered my heart and my soul into almost nothing has swallowed me whole.”
In her memoir, Presley writes about the process of getting Benjamin's body into her home, saying she was helped by a "very empathic funeral home owner" who understood her wishes.
Keough writes, “They told us that if we could tend to the body, we could have him at home, so she kept him in our house for a while on dry ice. . . And I would go and sit in there with him.”
Benjamin's body was kept in a room cooled to 55 degrees, and Presley took care of him.
“I felt so fortunate that there was a way that I could still parent him, delay it a bit longer so that I could become okay with laying him to rest,” she wrote.
Presley and Keough decided to honor their son and brother by getting his name tattooed on them. Benjamin had had Keough's name tattooed on his collarbone and Presley's name tattooed on his hand, so the mother and daughter got his name tattooed in those same places.
To get the tattoo placement and font right, Keough writes that that her mother invited the tattoo artist to see Benjamin's body.
"The tattooist agreed to go in there with us, bless him, and my mom led us into the casitas (guest house), opened the casket, and, in the most matter-of-fact way imaginable, proceeded to grab my brother’s hand and point out the tattoo, discuss its positioning, show the tattooist where she wanted it on her hand," Keough writes. "I stood there aghast, watching him try to engage in the conversation and pretend this was fine. I’m sure he was thinking, 'What the f--- is going on?' But he stayed that day and did the tattoo perfectly, right afterward, back in the house."
“I’ve had an extremely absurd life, but this moment is in the top five,” Keough adds.
During the time Presley kept Benjamin's body in her home, she was debating about where to bury him: Graceland or Hawaii.
“That was part of why it took so long,” she writes. “But I got so used to him, caring for him and keeping him there. I think it would scare the living f------ piss out of anybody else to have their son there like that. But not me.”
Eventually, Keough writes that she and her mother both “got this vibe” that her brother didn’t want his body to be in the house anymore.
“‘Guys,’ he seemed to be saying, ‘This is getting weird,’” Keough writes. “Even my mom said that she could feel him talking to her, saying, ‘This is insane, Mom, what are you doing? What the f---!’”
The family decided to bury him in Graceland, next to his grandfather Elvis, after holding a funeral service in Malibu. Keough writes that she ensured that her yellow Nike sneakers he had always loved were buried inside his casket with him.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
This article first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
