In one section of her new memoir, Priscilla Presley recounts the harrowing details of her daughter Lisa Marie Presley’s death.
She writes about being in the hospital room after Lisa Marie suffered a small bowel obstruction that led to cardiac arrest. Her daughter was on a ventilator, and finally, Priscilla had to make the gut-wrenching decision to withdraw life support.
What Is Priscilla Presley’s New Book Called?
This week, an excerpt from the book — called Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis — published in People sheds light on those difficult moments.
“I knew from the first moment I walked into Lisa’s hospital room that she was already gone,” Priscilla recounts.
She says that Lisa Marie was only breathing because of the machine, and though she had a heartbeat, there was “little brain activity.”
“[Lisa Marie’s daughter] Riley [Keough] later told us that while she was still on her flight, she had felt her mother’s spirit pass,” the excerpt continues. “But none of us was ready to give up yet.”
She describes more family members gathering in the room and recalls how she stepped out to eat and drink something. She then heard a “code blue” alarm as Lisa Marie’s heart stopped.
Why Did Priscilla Presley Remove Lisa Marie From Life Support?
After doctors restarted her heart, one pulled her aside to ask what she wanted to do next. Priscilla remembers him telling her that Lisa Marie would have “no quality of life at all.”
“I thought about my girl, my wild, rebellious, passionate girl, lying in a vegetative state for the rest of her life,” she remembers.
She told the doctor to take Lisa Marie off the machine.
“It was unbearable. I began to sob,” Priscilla continues, recounting how she felt as the nurse began to unhook Lisa Marie from the wires.
Priscilla says she doesn’t remember falling, but she remembers her cousin Ivy catching her.
“After that, everything went dark. I can’t remember. I don’t want to remember,” the excerpt concludes.
How Did Lisa Marie Presley Die?
Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, died on Jan. 12, 2023.
She was 54 years old.
Her cause of death was a small bowel obstruction linked to a prior bariatric surgery.
Read More: Lisa Marie Presley’s Cause of Death Revealed
She was buried at Graceland next to her son Ben, who died by suicide in 2020 at the age of 27.
Priscilla Presley Sued Over Withdrawing Lisa Marie Presley’s Life Support
In August of 2025, a new lawsuit emerged from two former business partners who claimed that Priscilla withdrew Lisa Marie’s life support as part of an effort to “regain control” over Elvis’ estate.
Read More: Priscilla Presley Sued Over Lisa Marie Presley’s Death
That lawsuit claims Priscilla deviated from Lisa Marie’s directive to “prolong her life,” and further claim that she knew her daughter was planning to remove her as a sole trustee of her irrevocable life insurance trust.
Priscilla’s attorney, Martin D. Singer, blasted the suit as “one of the most shameful, ridiculous, salacious and meritless” he has ever seen.