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ellie_rowo's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Violence, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Death, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
ritaconstantino's review
3.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Child abuse, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
siijayreads's review against another edition
4.0
"I knew that I must take control of my life. I could not give up these new insights. There was a whole world out there and I had to find my own place in it."
Such a revealing, jarring, and insightful memoir. Before this, my knowledge about Elvis Presley was limited aside from knowing he is the singer of the most popular hits songs I often hear on the radio when I was young. Having read this book gave me so much perspective about what the world was like back then which became even more special in the lens of someone who is in close proximity with a famous person. I only knew of Priscilla because she's the grandmother of Riley Keough, whom I have known since she’s friends with my favorite actress. I also heard a lot of controversies regarding her and Elvis' relationship and I got intrigued but didn't bother to really delve deeper into it. It wasn't until the recent Priscilla movie, which was based on this book, that I finally learned that this book exists, and it finally convinced me to read it. I listened to the audiobook and the experience was magnified because it was narrated by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley herself! I honestly didn't expect anything diving into this book but it certainly left me with so many reflections in life and I'm surprised that I can relate to some of Priscilla's internal struggles.
Throughout the book, I felt a myriad of emotions. A sense of protectiveness for teenage Priscilla who was about to become enamored with an older man, anger and shock for the things she went through while being in that relationship, sadness when the moment she realizes she's slowly losing herself, contagious joy for little things that makes her happy, and pride for the woman she slowly became after years of abandoning her needs for a man and untangling herself from those toxic cycle. I love those moments where she stood up for herself. This book also is a perfect example of how love makes us blind and tolerant of the things we don't deserve and how it makes us act more impulsively. We let others treat us badly because we're more afraid of losing them.
Priscilla spent a significant number of years in her life being tied to Elvis while she slowly lost herself in the process. It was so heartbreaking. While she did find happiness in all those years, the moment she freed herself from him, which was narrated during the latter part of the book, was one of the most refreshing and inspiring reads I've had in a while. I love stories where women break out of their shells and blossom from the inside and out. It was such an engaging experience listening to Priscilla narrate her own story. Her little laughs while reading particular sections from the book make me think she went back in time reliving the scene. I recommend this to anyone who wants to delve into reading nonfiction books!
Graphic: Death of parent, Misogyny, Infidelity, Grief, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Domestic abuse
amandas_bookshelf's review
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Grief, Classism, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Death of parent, Drug use, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Sexism, and Death
Minor: Abortion
mari1532's review against another edition
2.5
Now before reading this book, I knew that Priscilla was significantly younger than Elvis, but I did not know that he had essentially groomed her from her early teens. I find the rating and review of this book to be incredibly hard. It was well written in terms of a memoir and I appreciated how open Priscilla was about her story. However, reading it I was a little concerned that she didn't have any understanding that some of the things she was describing were abusive. I am trying not to project my opinions about the events she describes onto her story, but this book feels like it was written to absolve Elvis of sins rather than a reflection of her lived experiences.
For instance, she seems to take no issue with the fact that there was a massive age difference. Or that he sexualized her as a teenager while also making her guilty and threatening her should she be sexual with anyone else. There is also a moment in the book in a later chapter where it felt like she was describing marital rape.
I did listen to the entirety of this book, but I honestly wish I hadn't. I kept waiting for some self-reflective moments where she mentioned therapy or any indication that Elvis might not have been that great, but it never came. Unfortunately, I would not recommend this book.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Dysphoria, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Eating disorder
shelbitedeschi's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Sexual assault, Grief, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Death, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, and Sexism
05_haggler_prouder's review against another edition
4.25
I feel like she's sincere about the praise, but she's also terrified of the retribution she might face from the fans.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Body shaming, Grief, Rape, Addiction, and Infidelity
skelleybean's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Addiction, and Alcohol
Minor: Grief, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Death, Physical abuse, and Body shaming
honeybeewitched87's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Infidelity, Addiction, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Death of parent, Grief, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual content
Minor: Child death and Body shaming
noot_noot's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Death, Grief, Emotional abuse, Drug use, and Infidelity