Softly, As I Leave You - by Priscilla Presley (Hardcover)

Love this book!! Also delivery time was amazing and so was the price!!

I'll start with the positive first. Many of the stories were amusing and I enjoyed the conversational angle of the writing. It was nice to get observations from another party after reading Lisa Marie Presley’s memoir From Here to the Great Unknown. However, it was certainly interesting to read this book after reading Lisa Marie’s. As I got deeper into Priscilla’s book, it became apparent that a purpose of the book was to do damage control, to revise Lisa Marie’s truth (which wasn't particularly kind to Priscilla), and to get the final word. There's something almost calculating in how Priscilla plants these seeds of doubt into Lisa Marie’s memories while placing herself as the strong and doting mother having to deal with such a difficult and wild child who exaggerated the facts. She even suggests to the reader that Lisa Marie’s book and memoir tapes are inaccurate and what Lisa Marie "believed had happened." It feels almost malicious to do so. It is also made abundantly clear who was the golden child in Priscilla’s life- her son Navarone. A ridiculous amount of ink is reserved for tedious stories of how kind, smart, handsome, perfect Navarone is and the contrast of those with the descriptions of Lisa Marie is at times shocking. There is a lack of awareness when Priscilla describes the obsessively close relationships between Elvis and his mother and Lisa Marie and her equally troubled son Benjamin, since Priscilla absolutely has that same thing going on with Navarone. Navarone's struggles are given paragraphs of compassion while Lisa Marie’s final days and death is somewhat and bizarrely rushed. There is also a healthy spoonful of narcissism in Softly As I Leave You. Priscilla thinks VERY highly of herself! She is the most beautiful, the best mother, the most understanding and patient person, the business prodigy, the talented actress, the responsible and strong matriarch and the true love of Elvis. Any glimpse of self reflection or criticism of her own behavior is superficial at best. Priscilla centers herself as the victim and hero of every story, whether her own or her children's or her extended family. Softly As I Leave You unfortunately feels as though Priscilla needed to have the final word over her daughter rather than being honest of her own shortcomings or mistakes. Priscilla seems incredibly focused on making sure she gets the hero edit, even at the expense of her own daughter. She revises history to make sure everyone knows how wonderful she is and how flawed Lisa Marie was, and it's somewhat troubling to read as the book goes further along. After reading Lisa Marie’s book, I suppose I expected something more honest and self-critical from Priscilla. Instead, we get a polished, superficial and self-indulgent tribute and celebration of Priscilla (and Navarone), from Priscilla. Very disappointing.