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randimcphee's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
3.75
The writing itself isn’t anything mind blowing, but the story is absolutely fascinating. Reading a first hand experience of Elvis’ life, troubles, addictions, and attitude had me questioning a lot about what I thought I knew about him. This story is their love story, but also how he transformed from a sweet, generous, Southern boy with too much money, to a controlling, manipulative, borderline monster.
I think the lowest point of this book is that the author, his only wife, Priscilla, never seems to understand just how deeply terrible Elvis’ actions were. It was just so heartbreaking and scary, and I found throughout the book that I wasn’t rooting for the love story.
Even after their divorce, she said they were friendly, held hands, kissed, and acted like a family when they were together. It seems like she was never truly able to get out of his grip, even after everything and divorcing him. It was an interesting story, but also felt like whiplash. A good story, but disappointing to know the truth and see Priscilla be taken advantage of way too much.
I think the lowest point of this book is that the author, his only wife, Priscilla, never seems to understand just how deeply terrible Elvis’ actions were. It was just so heartbreaking and scary, and I found throughout the book that I wasn’t rooting for the love story.
Even after their divorce, she said they were friendly, held hands, kissed, and acted like a family when they were together. It seems like she was never truly able to get out of his grip, even after everything and divorcing him. It was an interesting story, but also felt like whiplash. A good story, but disappointing to know the truth and see Priscilla be taken advantage of way too much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Sexism, Pedophilia, Drug use, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Infidelity, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Sexual assault
theveronicareview's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Maybe I'm alone in this, but I believe we all come into this world aware of Elvis. His work and persona are so deeply embedded in our collective consciousness that, whether a fan or not, some aspect of our lives is bound to be touched by his impact on our culture and society.
Likewise, so many of us have our own perception of who Elvis was: cool, suave, annoying, proud - whatever it is, the majority of us are likely wrong. So few people knew the real Elvis and, arguably, one of the people who knew him best was his only wife, Priscilla.
I am not the type of person to rate/judge a memoir, but Elvis and Me was one of the most fascinating books I've read.
Constantly toeing the line between condemning & condoning the actions of Elvis, her parents, & herself, Priscilla recounts how she was courted by the singer at just 14 years of age. She spent late nights at Elvis' house in Germany, she was allowed to travel to another country to be with him, & she finished school in another country from her parents just so she could remain near the singer. Elvis taught Priscilla how to dress & how to act. She was given drugs so she could keep up with his demanding lifestyle. Priscilla went from being her parents' child to Elvis' child bride (though they actually married when she was 21), & it would be years before she'd realize she could be her own person, separate from Elvis.
Reading this memoir with modern eyes, it's baffling how their relationship was accepted. In her memoir, Priscilla does note that her parents were hesitant & insinuated that Elvis knew it was inappropriate, but that didn't make this read easier to digest. Obviously, it's now difficult for me to think of Elvis, the person, & not be repulsed. Reading other reviews of Priscilla's memoir, it's clear her words injured some who love/loved Elvis & who want his legacy to remain intact. Others are baffled by Priscilla's romanticization of their time together - some to the point of nausea and others with the desire to know more.
What appalled me more is that I went the majority of my life thinking they were the same age and that their relationship was respectable. It may be impossible to know or perceive how all the world's idols behave behind closed doors (although Elvis left that door opened just a crack, I'd say), but I think Priscilla's memoir is just another example of why we should always admire celebrities and their work with an objective eye. We don't truly know any one of them.
Likewise, so many of us have our own perception of who Elvis was: cool, suave, annoying, proud - whatever it is, the majority of us are likely wrong. So few people knew the real Elvis and, arguably, one of the people who knew him best was his only wife, Priscilla.
I am not the type of person to rate/judge a memoir, but Elvis and Me was one of the most fascinating books I've read.
Constantly toeing the line between condemning & condoning the actions of Elvis, her parents, & herself, Priscilla recounts how she was courted by the singer at just 14 years of age. She spent late nights at Elvis' house in Germany, she was allowed to travel to another country to be with him, & she finished school in another country from her parents just so she could remain near the singer. Elvis taught Priscilla how to dress & how to act. She was given drugs so she could keep up with his demanding lifestyle. Priscilla went from being her parents' child to Elvis' child bride (though they actually married when she was 21), & it would be years before she'd realize she could be her own person, separate from Elvis.
Reading this memoir with modern eyes, it's baffling how their relationship was accepted. In her memoir, Priscilla does note that her parents were hesitant & insinuated that Elvis knew it was inappropriate, but that didn't make this read easier to digest. Obviously, it's now difficult for me to think of Elvis, the person, & not be repulsed. Reading other reviews of Priscilla's memoir, it's clear her words injured some who love/loved Elvis & who want his legacy to remain intact. Others are baffled by Priscilla's romanticization of their time together - some to the point of nausea and others with the desire to know more.
What appalled me more is that I went the majority of my life thinking they were the same age and that their relationship was respectable. It may be impossible to know or perceive how all the world's idols behave behind closed doors (although Elvis left that door opened just a crack, I'd say), but I think Priscilla's memoir is just another example of why we should always admire celebrities and their work with an objective eye. We don't truly know any one of them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Infidelity, Drug abuse, and Misogyny
kamrynkoble's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Wow. Even though it was obvious that Priscilla danced around a lot that would make Elvis look bad, he comes across as a basket case and I think Priscilla might have the patience of a saint. If I were her, I would have had several mental breakdowns dealing with all of this.
This was written in the 1980s and I would be very curious what she thought of it now. I’m a little horrified by all Priscilla was put through, and it seemed a bit like she hadn’t even acknowledged the magnitude of what grown adults did when she was a literal child.
This paints in pretty broad strokes. There’s some honesty, but everything is so big picture that it never dives too deeply into anything. I did love the glimpses at the end about her finally discovering more of herself beyond who Elvis wanted her to be, but this whole book is definitely more focused on him.
It’s honestly very sad how loving/concerned about each other they were during and after their divorce. It just did not have to be this way. I frequently wished I could’ve hugged Priscilla—someone should have. It seemed like she was terribly alone even in rooms full of other people.
I’m very excited for the upcoming A24 movie based on this. It was my final push to read this.
This was written in the 1980s and I would be very curious what she thought of it now. I’m a little horrified by all Priscilla was put through, and it seemed a bit like she hadn’t even acknowledged the magnitude of what grown adults did when she was a literal child.
This paints in pretty broad strokes. There’s some honesty, but everything is so big picture that it never dives too deeply into anything. I did love the glimpses at the end about her finally discovering more of herself beyond who Elvis wanted her to be, but this whole book is definitely more focused on him.
It’s honestly very sad how loving/concerned about each other they were during and after their divorce. It just did not have to be this way. I frequently wished I could’ve hugged Priscilla—someone should have. It seemed like she was terribly alone even in rooms full of other people.
I’m very excited for the upcoming A24 movie based on this. It was my final push to read this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug abuse
kingfreckle02's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy
outsmartyourshelf's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
I'm not an Elvis fan as such, my musical tastes are more for the 80s & 90s, & I always thought his films were a bit twee, apart from maybe Flaming Star & Kid Galahad. For me he was like JFK (in more ways than one), everyone talked about him being handsome, but I could never really see it. This is a difficult book to rate. There's no ignoring (nor should we) the fact that Priscilla was 14 when they met, & only 16 when they started living together - it was wrong, she was underage, & far too young for him. It gave me the ick every time he referred to her as "Little Girl", I mean, she basically was. Plus he gave her sleeping pills so she could keep up with his 'party late/sleep late' lifestyle & attend school! This is Priscilla's book & I'm rating & reviewing it on that.
She paints the picture of a relationship & eventual marriage to a man who had everything a person could dream of with fame & fortune, but who was, at heart, deeply unhappy. He seemed controlling & emotionally manipulative of his inner circle, yet the other side of him spoiled those around him with gifts & wanted everyone to be content. Priscilla admits that she spent too much of her young life consumed with being who Elvis wanted her to be rather than being herself. It was good to see her finally admit that things weren't working & they were both unhappy & have the strength to move on & live her own life.
I didn't give this the full 5 stars as I feel the author skipped over things quite quickly & spends a lot time excusing Elvis for some of the things he did. It was an interesting read but an uncomfortable one as you are aware of her young age whilst all this is going on. I have some other books about Elvis on my TBR so it will be interesting to compare those to this one, once I get around to reading them.
She paints the picture of a relationship & eventual marriage to a man who had everything a person could dream of with fame & fortune, but who was, at heart, deeply unhappy. He seemed controlling & emotionally manipulative of his inner circle, yet the other side of him spoiled those around him with gifts & wanted everyone to be content. Priscilla admits that she spent too much of her young life consumed with being who Elvis wanted her to be rather than being herself. It was good to see her finally admit that things weren't working & they were both unhappy & have the strength to move on & live her own life.
I didn't give this the full 5 stars as I feel the author skipped over things quite quickly & spends a lot time excusing Elvis for some of the things he did. It was an interesting read but an uncomfortable one as you are aware of her young age whilst all this is going on. I have some other books about Elvis on my TBR so it will be interesting to compare those to this one, once I get around to reading them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, and Toxic relationship
noot_noot's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Eye opening
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Death, Grief, Emotional abuse, Drug use, and Infidelity
sarahreadsalotofbooks's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
I knew Elvis was a mess but I didn’t realize he was an abusive groomer.
He began grooming Priscilla when she was 14 telling her how to behave, what to wear, how to wear her makeup. By the time she was 16 they were sexually involved and he had convinced her to take sexual photos. He was emotionally and mentally abusive, as well as physically abusive at times.
Throughout all of this he was also grooming her parents, eventually getting them to consent to allow her to leave them to go live with him for the remainder of her high school years.
Priscilla comes across as someone with Stockholm syndrome finding his behavior humorous as she narrated this at times. She describes the time he raped her as “forcefully made love to her”.
As despicable a person as he was, this was a well-written, informative book.
He began grooming Priscilla when she was 14 telling her how to behave, what to wear, how to wear her makeup. By the time she was 16 they were sexually involved and he had convinced her to take sexual photos. He was emotionally and mentally abusive, as well as physically abusive at times.
Throughout all of this he was also grooming her parents, eventually getting them to consent to allow her to leave them to go live with him for the remainder of her high school years.
Priscilla comes across as someone with Stockholm syndrome finding his behavior humorous as she narrated this at times. She describes the time he raped her as “forcefully made love to her”.
As despicable a person as he was, this was a well-written, informative book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Violence, Cursing, Mental illness, Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Rape, Infidelity, and Sexual content
rickieskidmore's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Grief, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
lizcaruth's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
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