According to her account, Elvis told Priscilla that they had to wait until they were married before having sex. He said, "I'm not saying we can't do other things. It's just the actual encounter. I want to save it." Priscilla adds, "Fearful of not pleasing him—of destroying my image as his little girl—I resigned myself to the long wait. Instead of consummating our love in the usual way, he began teaching me other means of pleasing him. We had a strong connection, much of it sexual. The two of us created some exciting and wild times." Elvis was a very complex man and this book displays more than any other media I’ve come across what a problematic man he was. The age gap, his manipulation, and all the infidelity are so clearly stated in here, yet I’m surprised how casual Priscilla is about it and that the book ends on such a positive note regarding that. I would’ve wanted even more reflections from her side how she believes that this has affected her life and her personality. Or perhaps she had not even worked through that by the time she wrote the book. Has she even by now? As an Elvis Presley Expert, and Collector with OVER 100,000 photos/items since the late 1960's, I know all of the "resentment" about Priscilla (and the Estate). It's also disturbing to know that while Elvis was very controlling and abusive with Priscilla and those who worked for him, he was under the abusive control of Colonel Parker. It's a vicious cycle of abuse. What a disappointment this book was, on a number of levels. I was keen to read it, as I was interested in the truth about their relationship. It had always puzzled me how Elvis could have taken in such a young girl to live with him, as his girlfriend, and nobody questioned this? Why would her parents allow this to happen? I know things were different in that era, but even so, it was still very questionable.

I have read two other Elvis biographies, and as dreadful as all of this sounds, the other authors were less gentle. In fact, this is part of Priscilla’s stated reason for deciding to tell her own story. Priscilla began by detailing every harrowing encounter in her memoir Elvis and Me and began by admitting that she was wrapped around his finger. In a televised interview on January 14, 2005, with Larry King on CNN's Larry King Live, Anita Wood said that following media reports of a girlfriend in Germany, Elvis "had me believing that she (Priscilla) was just a friend and her daddy was in the Army with him, and there was nothing to it whatsoever."Presley admitted he had a number of affairs with some of the women who co-starred in his films, but all the relationships were before he met Priscilla and "meant nothing." Nevertheless, she understood these affairs were going on while he was professing love to Anita Wood. Separated on February 23, 1972, the Presleys divorced amicably on October 9, 1973, mutually agreeing to share custody of their daughter. Elvis had made another televised special called Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii in January 1973, but after not seeing him for several months prior to the actual court hearing, Priscilla was bewildered by his physical appearance. She remarked on how swollen his hands were when she held them in hers. Less than four years later, Elvis died. After his death, his father Vernon agreed to have Elvis's body reburied to deter thieves. Additionally, Priscilla effortlessly makes Elvis out to be a terrible husband with temper tantrums, controlling and manipulative ways, and she even goes so far as to smoothly mention an incident where he "forcefully made love" to her while telling her "this is how a real man makes love". Reminder Priscilla: This book was written for your DAUGHTER right? Now why would anyone reveal something so private like that? The sad part is that in the movie "Elvis and Me", Priscilla allowed the movie producers/director to portray Elvis as having RAPED her. While they planned on having children, Elvis and Priscilla had hoped to wait awhile, and Priscilla was not prepared for her pregnancy. She considered an abortion, in part because Elvis had made derogatory comments in the past about "women using pregnancy as an excuse to let themselves go." Feeling insecure, she dieted to the point that by the time she gave birth, she then weighed less than she had before becoming pregnant. During Priscilla's pregnancy, she and Elvis made love passionately until she began hearing rumors about Elvis and Nancy Sinatra, his co-star in the film Speedway. When Priscilla confronted Elvis about the stories, he dismissed them out of hand, telling her she was being overly sensitive due to her "condition" (pregnancy). However, six months into her pregnancy, Nancy Sinatra telephoned Priscilla and said she wanted to give her a baby shower. Priscilla was apprehensive about such a request coming from a woman she hardly knew, but Elvis convinced her to accept the offer. Priscilla went along with it and she and Sinatra got along well together. Everything seemed fine until a week or so later, when Elvis informed Priscilla that he needed time to think and wanted a trial separation. Devastated, all she could say was: "You've got it. Just tell me when to leave." She lived in agony for days, but Elvis changed his mind without ever saying a thing. Two months later, their daughter Lisa Marie was born in Memphis on February 1, 1968. Whatever her intentions in writing this book were, it only made me love Elvis even more. He was as human as you and I. He was not perfect, but he was a good, generous and loving man... having said that, I will always advocate for Elvis when others deliberately and obviously try to taint his image.

Priscilla wrote that Elvis did not approve of his father Vernon's relationship with divorcee Dee Stanley and did not attend their wedding. After the marriage, Elvis bought a home on Dolan Drive in Memphis, where Vernon and his new wife resided. On the rare occasions Dee Stanley-Presley came to Graceland, Elvis did his best to at least be civil towards his stepmother. While Elvis was spiraling downward, working like a dog in Vegas and not around anymore that is when Priscilla started finding her own strength, style and voice, especially through karate and dance. Priscilla shares with us the brightest moments as well as some ugly truths about the man she loved and their unique relationship. She also shares interesting tidbits about Elvis' eccentricities and his career in film and music. His desire for her was not only one heavily rooted in pedophilia, but also what appears to be a fantasy of incest in calling her “his little girl” and pushing for her to make physical changes that would result in a physical resemblance between the two of them. He didn’t just groom this little girl to be his ideal partner, but a daughter he could share a bed with and it’s nauseating. I enjoyed reading the book, maybe because it was interesting to read about such a famous relationship or just such famous people. It felt like someone was telling me a story in person tbh.I have to question why Priscilla decided to write this book. What was her agenda? Was it simply to record their 'love story', or was it a form of revenge? Having completed the book, my belief is that it is quite cleverly a trashing of Elvis' reputation, under the guise of a love story. This is her version of the truth, her final act of revenge, cunningly delivered as a tribute to him. She speaks lovingly of the man, but so cleverly imparts information about him that is quite devastating and ruinous to his reputation. This was a difficult read in how it explores the details of how Elvis groomed and manipulated a young child (actively being failed by her parents) into marrying him. Even more difficult is the denial Priscilla lived in at the time of writing this memoir 38 years ago. Priscilla describes how her father reluctantly allowed her to live in Memphis, Tennessee to be near Elvis. The initial arrangement was that Priscilla would live with Vernon and Dee while attending a Memphis Catholic school. Contrary to this arrangement, Priscilla gradually moved in with Elvis. Priscilla also writes of other times she became suspicious of Elvis' faithfulness. One such time was when Elvis released " (Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame", Priscilla wondered at that time if Elvis was dating a girl named Donna Marie. [ citation needed] The Ann-Margret affair [ edit ] with my hate for him as a person, I would marry Priscilla if I could!!!! I love her so much and have an insane amount of empathy towards her. being forced to not take birth control, being found undesirable, questioning her sexuality, and raising lisa marie on her own. my heart :’(

Overall a heartbreaking messed up story that shouldn't be ignored even though the music is fantastic and timeless. The version of Priscilla Presley who lingers in pop culture—dark eyeliner, teased hair, immaculate gowns—is the primary one we see in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, played by Olivia DeJonge and seen primarily as a witness to the central drama between Elvis and Colonel Tom Parker. The bulk of their relationship took place in the 1960s, a period skimmed over by a montage. There were some funny moments when Priscilla told some of the crazy antics that she, Elvis and the entourage got into. I liked hearing her laugh at those stories, but then there times she laughed and I felt like I wasn't in on the joke. I mean, you lived his life. You saw the movies he wanted to see. You listened to the music he wanted to listen to. You’d go to places that he would go… I honestly didn’t have my own life. … So I really kind of lost myself.”Priscilla reads this memoir to us herself, and that makes it much more fun to hear. As we age our faces and our bodies change a lot, but our speaking voices change very little. Remembering some of the silly moments from that time, the author lets out a brief, girlish giggle, and it’s almost impossible to believe that she is now a grandmother. Also, I think Linda Thompson was on to something when she told Elvis that he "should have married a southerner"... and Elvis even agreed with Linda on that one. Decently written. Spans a large chunk of time. Easy to follow. Easy (if you get past the content) to read, I finished it in a day. Very interesting for a nosey person like me. I feel like I know Elvis and Priscilla a little from reading this.

Another big part of this book, other than their dysfunctional relationship, is the drug abuse and how early it actually started and how casual it seemed as first. It’s really tragic to read about how early in his life Elvis started taking sleeping and diet pills. Of course he is gonna have a very relaxed stance on it if it’s something he has been doing without any major consequences for 20 years. He also gives her drugs, mostly sleeping pills, and at one point gives her enough that she overdoses and doesn't wake up for two whole days. At this point she is 16 and he is 26. At other times he is physically violent towards her, punching/hitting her in the side of the head so hard that her eye bruises and another time throwing a chair at her. His anger issues are a huge problem in not just their relationship but Elvis's relationship with everyone, they all seem to be afraid of him. Finally, she describes him as being a master of manipulation who can easily control everyone around him and their emotions. Chipped nails or patterned clothing was also frowned upon because she was “Elvis’s doll, his own living doll, to fashion as he pleased.” His controlling nature allegedly did not stop there either. “You need to apply more makeup around your eyes,” he would often tell her. “Make them stand out more. They’re too plain naturally. I like a lot of makeup. It defines your features.” Elvis is portrayed here as a deceitful, libidinous man, who sees infidelity as a way of life. She paints him as being a paedophile, as, even though she is at pains to point out that they did not consummate their relationship until after their marriage, she provides details of clear sexual activity, which he took numerous Polaroid photos of, from the very start of their relationship. This was when she was 14 years of age, and still in school. He also plied her with drugs. She frequently commented on how tired she was each day at school, and how her schoolwork suffered because of the nights that she lay with him in his bed. This all took place in his home, where his family and adult friends all lived and stayed. Why was this behaviour condoned? All the while, Elvis was conducting numerous love affairs. If their relationship was truly a love story, why did it take so long for him to marry her? Why did it all seem so rushed when it happened, and secretive? Was the marriage the result of threats from Priscilla and her parents? Did they threaten to expose Elvis' actions, as has been reported elsewhere? He obviously treated her badly, and I think this book is her revenge.

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It all came to the point where she was forced to leave him behind. “I didn’t have my teenage years as a normal girl, obviously, so I had to adapt. So I just kind of followed what he did.” While describing a "cleansing period" in Elvis's life, Priscilla claims that "any sexual temptations were against everything he was striving for, and he did not wish to betray me, the girl waiting for him at home who was preparing to be his wife."