Lisa Marie Presley opened up about losing her beloved son Benjamin Keough in an emotional essay this week.
The 54-year-old daughter of legendary crooner Elvis Presley said her son’s death “destroyed” her after Benjamin took his own life in 2020 at the age of 27.
Marking “National Grief Awareness Day” on Tuesday, the singer wrote an essay for People magazine about the overwhelming grief she continues to feel over her son’s sudden death.
“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,” she wrote. “If not to help yourself but maybe to help another who is grieving.”
Presley said she found that “grief does not stop or go away in any sense” and it’s something that stays with you “for the rest of your life.”
Elsewhere in the essay, she admitted to feeling “judged and blamed” for her son’s death.
“I already battle with and beat myself up tirelessly and chronically, blaming myself every single day and that’s hard enough to now live with, but others will judge and blame you too, even secretly or behind your back which is even more cruel and painful on top of everything else,” she wrote.
Presley also shares daughter Riley Keough with ex-husband Danny Keough. She shares her 13-year-old twin daughters Finley Aaron Love and Harper Vivienne Anne with ex-husband Michael Lockwood. Their divorce was finalized last year.
Presley said the lives of her three daughters, in addition to hers, were “completely detonated and destroyed by his death. We live in this every. Single. Day.”
“Nothing, absolutely NOTHING takes away the pain, but finding support can sometimes help you feel a little bit less alone,” she added.
“It’s a real choice to keep going, one that I have to make every single day and one that is constantly challenging to say the least… But I keep going for my girls,” she went on.
“I keep going because my son made it very clear in his final moments that taking care of his little sisters and looking out for them were on the forefront of his concerns and his mind. He absolutely adored them and they him.”
Benjamin died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 27 on July 12, 2020, at his home in Calabasas, Calif.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled his death a suicide.
Three months after his passing, he was laid to rest at Graceland beside his grandfather and several other family members.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
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