Benjamin Keough, who was Lisa Marie Presley’s son, died in July 2020. Lisa Marie was heartbroken when her son died, and she talked at length about it online and in interviews.
Even though she was hurting, she found a way to help other people who had lost someone close to them in the months after his death. David Kessler, an expert on grief, recently posted on Instagram about Lisa Marie’s work in recent years.
He says in his letter that he met Lisa Marie after her son died.
“I’ve been so lucky to be friends with Lisa Marie. She was a good daughter and mother because of how honest and brave she was. The death of her son made her want to help other people who were going through hard times because of grief.
“I met Lisa Marie after her son Ben died. She wanted to talk to me, not because I was an expert on grief, but because I had also lost a child. It wasn’t likely that they would become friends, but that’s how grief works.”
“She asked me to go to Memphis with her last weekend to celebrate her dad’s 88th birthday. She had many invitations for the weekend, but only three were important to her: going to her father’s birthday party, visiting the graves of her son and father after the tours left Graceland, and meeting with a mother who had just lost her child.
I saw how Lisa Marie talked to this mother with a broken heart in a kind way about what to expect during grief. Helping people who are sad was what interested her the most these days.”
“She had problems, but she always dealt with them. She was in my program to help people deal with grief, but most of the people who met her and talked to her didn’t know who she was. To them, she was a mother whose son had died and who wanted to do something good with her grief. She and I have led grief groups for other parents who have lost children at her house for the past two years. We were going to do a podcast together about grief. Her priorities became her family, her love of music, carrying on her father’s work, and helping other people.
“She had issues, but she always handled them. She was in my program to help people deal with grief, but most of the people she met and talked to didn’t know who she was. For them, she was a mother whose son had died and who was trying to turn her sadness into something good. At her house for the past two years, she and I have led grief groups for other parents who have lost children. We were going to make a podcast about loss together. She put her family, her love of music, continuing her father’s work, and helping other people at the top of her list.