by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley (with Mary Jane Ross)
Release Date: September 23, 2025
2025 Grand Central Publishing
Hardcover Edition; 336 Pages
ISBN: 978-0306836480
ASIN: B0F3JFWH99
Audiobook: B0F5RN1K5L
Genre: Non-Fiction / Memoir
Source: Review copy from publisher
2.75 / 5 Stars
Summary
Softly, As I Leave You, is the deeply
personal story of what Priscilla lost and what she found when she walked
away from the man she loved. Despite the legal separation, their love
for one another transformed into a touching and tender dynamic that
endured until Elvis’s untimely death four years later. Shattered by
Elvis’s passing, she had to reinvent herself a second time as the single
mother of a talented, often headstrong daughter who never really
recovered from her father’s death. Priscilla’s dedication to motherhood
was enriched by the birth of her second child, and she gradually found
her footing as a businesswoman, actress, designer, and legislative
advocate. She transformed Graceland into an international destination
and helped guide the development of Elvis Presley Enterprises. But the
unexpected, shattering loss of three immediate family members years
later brought Priscilla to her knees. She shares her journey with a
quiet dignity that will comfort and reassure anyone who has suffered –
and survived – seemingly unbearable loss.
My Thoughts
Softly, as I Leave You is the story about Priscilla Beaulieu Presley's life after she decided to leave Elvis Presley and start a new life that was different from the one she experienced while living at Graceland. While I was reading the book however, I was really questioning the motive behind the book, so it took me quite a while to write this review as I wanted my thoughts to be clear and respectful, but it is hard. On the one hand, I did feel like I learned a couple of new things with respect to her relationship with Elvis and her personal life, but on the other hand, I felt like I was reading about someone who was just telling a story about someone else instead of their own personal story as it felt unemotional and disconnected. What that her way of protecting herself over the loss of her daughter and grandson? It's hard to say without really knowing the person which is why this review is difficult to write.
There were a lot of interesting parts to this book, and even though I had read Lisa Marie's biography, there were quite a few things that I didn't know. Which made me wonder. Was this some type of damage control, something in response to the other book? There were parts of this book that questioned Lisa Marie's truth and that sort of made me feel...icky, to say the least. I realize there are always two sides to a story, and I'm not saying that I am taking Lisa Marie's side or anything, it's just that the writing didn't feel authentic in the same way as it lacked the emotional power, that raw feeling when someone is speaking from their soul. The author does spent a lot of time defending her actions, repeating quite often how difficult it was to raise Elvis Presley's child and what that entails, but doesn't really go into any details. She also mentions a lot of people who were in her life, but again, doesn't really mention how they continue to play a role in her life in meaningful ways. And that is probably what this book lacks, meaningful discussion.
What was difficult for me is how she never really admits to her faults and the mistakes she has made which is what makes a memoir usually so poignant and wonderful. No one is perfect, something she points out consistently about Elvis. But she tries to justify everything she has done, which is fine, but at least own up to your part in what happened. And one of those justifications is about how and when she met Elvis at just fourteen years old and moved into his house at 17. Sorry, but you can't hide behind the 60s as this being a normal thing as it wasn't. She mentions how she was a dutiful daughter in one sentence, yet in another, how she threatened to run away if she didn't get her way. In a way, this sort of represents a lot of the contradictions in this book. However, I definitely could not imagine living in the environment at Graceland as it would have been difficult living with the constant attention surrounding Elvis. something I think she actually downplayed in the book.
If Elvis had died in bed at ninety, surrounded by his daughter, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, his last years would have been treated with respect. But instead, he died face down on the bathroom carpet with an overload of drugs in his system. That reality has colored the public understanding of him ever since. It created a false perception. Elvis was a remarkable human being. Yes, he was flawed, as all of us are, but he was a flawed diamond. He was passionate, loving, generous, artistically brilliant, and utterly unique. I want the world to remember the man I remember, ever more clearly with the passage of time. I want to give Elvis a voice, to say the things he never got to. I want to represent him publicly for the man he was.
I highlighted this passage because I was like, what? Yes, the man died of a drug overdose, but there are many who admire Elvis for his music. I think it's Priscilla who maybe has the issue, and personally, it sounds as if she never moved on, but because Elvis is not here to share his side of the story, we will never really know what happened. The people I feel sorry for in this situation are her children, Lisa Marie and Navarone. Her son doesn't have a drop of Presley blood in his him, but I felt like she really, really wanted to make it so, even talking about his inherited musical talent. Um, he would not have inherited that from Elvis, that's for sure. Personally, I was wondering how Navarone felt about the entire situation and what his relationship was with his sister and the rest of the family.
Verdict
Softly, As I Leave You was definitely a mixed bag for me as I appreciated learning some new things about Priscilla and her life, but at the same time, I felt like this was such a superficial retelling as the emotion was somewhat lacking considering the book felt more like a justification for her actions rather than a memoir. Yes, this woman had been through a lot, but I still felt like this book was written in order to make herself look like a better mother in light of Lisa Marie's book. Now that is a book I would recommend reading. And while this wasn't a complete waste of time as many of the anecdotes were interesting, especially the ones about the animals, and I liked learning about her animal activism, at the same time, nothing was mentioned in this book about how she sued her granddaughter for rights over Graceland, but consistently talked about how they were this big, happy family. I couldn't get past the fact she always seem to paint Lisa as the person with all of the personal issues while painting her son as perfect, and just couldn't acknowledge how her actions affected those around her.
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