From Here to the Great Unknown

by Lisa Marie Presley

I am aware that the recordings my mother left are a gift. So often, all that’s left of a loved one is a saved and re-saved voicemail, a short video on a phone, some favorite photos. I take the privilege of these tapes very seriously.

My mom fundamentally felt she was broken, unlovable, not beautiful. There was a profound sense of unworthiness in her, and I could never really figure out why. I’ve spent my whole life trying to work out the answer. My mother was an incredibly complicated person and deeply misunderstood.

I wasn’t alone, but I was very lonely. I didn’t have a lot of friends. So I’d just stare at that book, wanting to live in the pictures somehow. So far away. Another world, another place, another time.