As the famous quote goes, “It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” Lisa Marie Presley’s son, Benjamin Keough passed away on July 12th, 2020. Now the pain-stricken mother is OPENING up about her vast experience with grief and how one deals with it after losing a child.
Benjamin committed suicide at the age of 27, according to reports.
“National Grief Awareness Day” is an annual event that takes place on August 30th. This year, people obtained a letter written by Lisa Marie Presley. The essay was full of raw emotion as she talked about the “horrific reality” of losing her son. In addition, she discussed how one can help others who may be grieving the death of a loved one.
The letter reads:
“Today is “National Grief Awareness Day,” and since I have been living in the horrific reality of its unrelenting grips since my son’s death two years ago, I thought I would share a few things to be aware of in regard to grief for anyone who is interested. If not to help yourself but maybe to help another who is grieving.”
Furthermore, she discussed how imperative it is to talk about your grief when you lose a loved one.
“This is not a comfortable subject for anyone, and it is most unpopular to talk about. This is quite long, potentially triggering and very hard to confront. But if we’re going make any progress on the subject, grief has to get talked about. I’m sharing my thoughts in the hopes that somehow, we can change that.”
“Death is part of life whether we like it or not — and so is grieving. There is so much to learn and understand on the subject, but here’s what I know so far: One is that grief does not stop or go away in any sense, a year, or years after the loss. Grief is something you will have to carry with you for the rest of your life, in spite of what certain people or our culture want us to believe. You do not ‘get over it,’ you do not ‘move on,’ period.”
She added:
“Two, grief is incredibly lonely. Despite people coming in the heat of the moment to be there for you right after the loss takes place, they soon disappear and go on with their own lives and they kind of expect for you to do the same, especially after some time has passed. This includes ‘family’ as well.”
“If you’re incredibly lucky, less than a handful will remain in contact with you after the first month or so. Unfortunately, that is a cold hard truth for most. So, if you know someone who lost a loved one, regardless of how long it’s been, please call them to see how they are doing. Go visit them, they will really really appreciate it, more than you know.”
“Three, and particularly if the loss was premature, unnatural, or tragic, you will become a pariah in a sense. You can feel stigmatized and perhaps judged in some way as to why the tragic loss took place. This becomes magnetized by a million if you are the parent of a child who passed. No matter how old they were. No matter the circumstances.”
In an Instagram post promoting the new Elvis biopic set to release in August 2022, Lisa Marie Presley also announced that she would be taking a break from social media to mourn her son’s loss.
She posted:
“Hello everyone, I haven’t posted in quite some time because there really isn’t much to say, as I am and will forever be mourning the loss of my son. Navigating through this hideous grief that absolutely destroyed and shattered my heart and my soul into almost nothing has swallowed me whole. Not much else aside from my other 3 children gets my time and attention anymore.”
“However, that being said, I do want to take a moment to let you know that I have seen Baz Luhrmann’s movie ‘Elvis’ twice now, and let me tell you that it is nothing short of spectacular. Absolutely exquisite.”
Lisa Marie Presley is the mother of three daughters: 13-year-old twins Harper and Finley, and 33-year-old actress Riley Keough.
