Elvis and Me

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In comparison, the arrival of an impossibly preserved 76-year-old Priscilla to open the exhibition seemed positively understated.

I have read two other Elvis biographies, and as dreadful as all of this sounds, the other authors were less gentle. In fact, this is part of Priscilla’s stated reason for deciding to tell her own story.Elvis and Me is a book worthy of being read by Elvis Fans...and others looking for a "good read" that shares details about a complicated relationship between a young woman and a man suffering from the lost of his beloved Mother while in the Army in another land. Their love overcame geography, age, and much more. As an Elvis Presley Expert, and Collector with OVER 100,000 photos/items since the late 1960's, I know all of the "resentment" about Priscilla (and the Estate). There were some funny moments when Priscilla told some of the crazy antics that she, Elvis and the entourage got into. I liked hearing her laugh at those stories, but then there times she laughed and I felt like I wasn't in on the joke.

Priscilla had already made her mind up anyway, telling The Hollywood Reporter in an August 2023 interview she would have run away if her parents disapproved. “I basically threatened them and told them, ‘If you don’t let me go, I’ll find my way.’” Describing this time in her life, she wrote: "Every free moment was devoted to cramming a whole semester's work into a few weeks. But my concentration was scatted; the strain of life at Graceland had finally caught up with me." The very next line of Priscilla's book says that after the Ann-Margret ordeal, she soon suspected there were other women. She began traveling with him, but says she would still "get crazed with worry." She was afraid that the moment she was away from him, another woman could slip in. Priscilla relates how her insecurities would lead her to imitate the other woman's appearance (changing her clothes, hairstyle, and makeup), to hopefully please him. The obsession with returning to the obscurity of his poverty-ridden childhood years plagued both Elvis and Vernon, who devoted himself to the exhaustive preservation of his son’s archives. Priscilla is moved by the curation of the Bendigo exhibition, which brings this essential neurosis to the fore. Priscilla also began to understand the spotlight that would constantly be on her as Elvis’ love interest. In the same interview, she described an occasion when she heard onlookers at a Beverly Hills boutique gossiping as she tried on clothes. “I heard the girl saying, ‘You know who that is? That’s the girl Elvis is dating, and they’re getting married. She’s pregnant,’” recalled Priscilla, who wasn’t actually pregnant. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s what’s being said?’”Ultimately, though, Priscilla told the outlet she wanted the film to showcase “that love was there, that the care was there.” Cailee Spaeny met with her to prepare for the lead role, asking for any advice that would help the actor give an authentic performance. “Just be sensitive to him,” Priscilla said, referencing co-star Jacob Elordi. I will say, I went into this book with a lot of antagonism for Elvis. I like his music, casually, but I’ve seen a few documentaries on him in recent years that made me really dislike him as a person. Let me tell you, this book didn’t change that opinion whatsoever. a b Bergeson, Samantha (November 6, 2023). "Priscilla Presley Has 'No Problems' with Sofia Coppola's Film but Would 'Never Support Another Movie' of Her Life from Anyone Else". IndieWire . Retrieved November 11, 2023. He wanted the audience to get a sight and go home with something to talk about. It wasn’t about Liberace. That didn’t impress Elvis at all. Priscilla shares with us the brightest moments as well as some ugly truths about the man she loved and their unique relationship. She also shares interesting tidbits about Elvis' eccentricities and his career in film and music.

Priscilla describes how her father reluctantly allowed her to live in Memphis, Tennessee to be near Elvis. The initial arrangement was that Priscilla would live with Vernon and Dee, while attending a Memphis Catholic school. Contrary to this arrangement, however, Priscilla gradually moved in with Elvis. While she considered confiding in one of the nuns at her Catholic school about how much she was drowning under the weight of the pressure to get good grades andbe there for Elvis, she ultimately chose not to. And Elvis charmed her parents to go along with visits. Oh do I have things to say about her parents. WHO ALLOWS THEIR TEENAGE DAUGHTER TO VISIT A MAN IN THE STATES AND THEN CHANGE SCHOOLS TO GO LIVE WITH HIM? WHO DOES THAT!?Mills, Nancy (February 7, 1988). "Priscilla's perspective on life with the King". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. p.4J.

I have enjoyed this book since the first day it was available for sale. As much as I respect what she wrote in the book I have even more respect for...what she left out. Every second cafe, clothing retailer and hairdresser seems to have festooned their window displays with Presley iconography, as businesses pump out into the city’s main streets the classics All Shook Up, Blue Suede Shoes and Love Me Tender. It's also disturbing to know that while Elvis was very controlling and abusive with Priscilla and those who worked for him, he was under the abusive control of Colonel Parker. It's a vicious cycle of abuse. According to her account, Elvis told Priscilla that they had to wait until they were married, before having sex. He said, "I'm not saying we can't do other things. It's just the actual encounter. I want to save it." Priscilla adds, "Fearful of not pleasing him—of destroying my image as his little girl—I resigned myself to the long wait. Instead of consummating our love in the usual way, he began teaching me other means of pleasing him. We had a strong connection, much of it sexual. The two of us created some exciting and wild times."Elvis liked old movie classics revolving around family or struggles to survive in the world. Les Misérables, Wuthering Heights, It's a Wonderful Life, Mr. Skeffington, Miracle on 34th Street, Letter from an Unknown Woman and The Way of All Flesh, the story of a self-sacrificing father, were among his favorites. The 78-year-old also clarified that when she left Presley years later, “it wasn’t because I didn’t love him – he was the love of my life. It was the lifestyle that was so difficult for me … We had our daughter and I made sure that he saw her all the time. It was like we never left each other. I want to make that clear.”