Can someone please tell me why I read this as a 9-year-old? I am struggling to figure this out myself and am worried that the reading of this book at such a young age has caused permanent and irreversible brain damage. What mainly disturbed me was Michaels strong sexual feelings towards Lisa Marie who was only twelve at the time. It was very disgusting reading him get aroused by her brushing past him or hugging him.

The version of Priscilla Presley who lingers in pop culture—dark eyeliner, teased hair, immaculate gowns—is the primary one we see in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, played by Olivia DeJonge and seen primarily as a witness to the central drama between Elvis and Colonel Tom Parker. The bulk of their relationship took place in the 1960s, a period skimmed over by a montage. Rather than being the single event that the family anticipated, Elvis made their visits regular ones; when her parents balked, Elvis spoke to them personally, turning all of his charismatic charm on them, and telling them everything they wanted to hear. Most of it was untrue, of course, but the one thing he adhered to was not having sexual intercourse. During this time period, the Madonna-Whore dichotomy was alive and well, and any girl or woman known to have sex outside of marriage was likely to be ostracized by former friends and in some cases, family. It’s hard to imagine now, but at that time, no birth control pill had been invented, and a pregnancy outside of marriage was likely to ruin a young woman’s entire life. Some members of his adult audience were less enthusiastic. Soon his performances were labeled obscene. My mother stated emphatically that he was "a bad influence for teenage girls. He arouses things in them that shouldn't be aroused. If there's ever a mothers' march against Elvis Presley, I'll be the first in line." While describing a "cleansing period" in Elvis's life, Priscilla claims that "any sexual temptations were against everything he was striving for, and he did not wish to betray me, the girl waiting for him at home who was preparing to be his wife." Presley admitted he had a number of affairs with some of the women who co-starred in his films, but all the relationships were before he met Priscilla and "meant nothing." Nevertheless, she understood these affairs were going on while he was professing love to Anita Wood.Priscilla is sweet and well intentioned but she’s not a reader and I wish she would have gone a bit deeper into the real deep relationship. While Elvis was spiraling downward, working like a dog in Vegas and not around anymore that is when Priscilla started finding her own strength, style and voice, especially through karate and dance. When I first started this audiobook I thought I’d made yet another error in judgment & was soon to have buyer’s remorse, but I was definitely wrong. I guess I never realized how much acting and starring in movies meant to Elvis Presley and how he felt about the way he was cast.

I encourage any Elvis fan to read this as it casts light on his character and some of his decisions.He was a control freak with a violent temper who insisted that Priscilla stay virginal and yet made her wear clothes and make-up that made her look like she was working at the Mustang Ranch. Priscilla also describes several episodes involving Elvis' explosive temper and his jealous nature; including the time he went into a rage and threatened to fire a male employee ( Memphis Mafia member Jerry Schilling), who supposedly acted too "friendly" with Priscilla. In her memoir, she even admitted that she was not allowed to cut her hair without his permission because “men like long hair.” I thought about our daughter, Lisa, who was visiting Elvis at Graceland and was supposed to come home that very day. Oh, God, I prayed. Please let everything be all right. Don't let anything happen, please, dear God. In some ways Michael helped Priscilla overcome her fears and shyness but also the robotic lifestyle she grew accustomed to live while being married to Elvis. It’s nice to say he helped her with her career.

His desire for her was not only one heavily rooted in pedophilia, but also what appears to be a fantasy of incest in calling her “his little girl” and pushing for her to make physical changes that would result in a physical resemblance between the two of them. He didn’t just groom this little girl to be his ideal partner, but a daughter he could share a bed with and it’s nauseating. Lawdy Miss Clawdy, what to say about this. I did not know their relationship was this problematic. I thought Elvis and Priscilla met when she was 14 while he was serving in the army in Germany, and then years later reconnected. Nope. It pains me to say Elvis was a groomer. He pursued her. He gave her pills, they gambled, he dressed her up in his ideal image of a woman. PDF / EPUB File Name: Elvis_by_the_Presleys_-_The_Presleys.pdf, Elvis_by_the_Presleys_-_The_Presleys.epub A photographer's model before her marriage, my mother was totally devoted to her family. As the oldest, it was my responsibility to help her with the kids. After me, there were Don, four years my junior, and Michelle, my only sister, who was five years younger than Don. Jeff and the twins, Tim and Tom, hadn't yet been born.I listened to this on audiobook and it was amazing to hear Priscilla's voice narrating her own life, her experiences and adventures with Elvis. I mean, you lived his life. You saw the movies he wanted to see. You listened to the music he wanted to listen to. You’d go to places that he would go… I honestly didn’t have my own life. … So I really kind of lost myself.” Priscilla putting up with Elvis’s philandering 🙄 girrrl… you’re young and gorgeous… go to college and move on! His controlling nature allegedly did not stop there either. “You need to apply more makeup around your eyes,” he would often tell her. “Make them stand out more. They’re too plain naturally. I like a lot of makeup. It defines your features.” He also gives her drugs, mostly sleeping pills, and at one point gives her enough that she overdoses and doesn't wake up for two whole days. At this point she is 16 and he is 26. At other times he is physically violent towards her, punching/hitting her in the side of the head so hard that her eye bruises and another time throwing a chair at her. His anger issues are a huge problem in not just their relationship but Elvis's relationship with everyone, they all seem to be afraid of him. Finally, she describes him as being a master of manipulation who can easily control everyone around him and their emotions.