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Elvis and Me: The True Story of the Love Between Priscilla Presley and the King of Rock N' Roll

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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. 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. When it comes to reading a biography… I feel a little unfair when I rate the book anything under 5 stars unless I hate it. This is the persons own words, on their own experience - their life. Reading older biographies is sometimes complicated, and it sure was in this case. I read through contemporary eyes; things that shouldn’t have been ok then… shouldn’t have been tolerated were. “It WaS a DiFfErEnT tImE” - yeah, idgaf. A lot on this book was hard to wrap my brain around (I’ve compiled a short —- ehhh… short-ISH list below of those points). Elvis and Me was published in 1986, and written about a time in the 60s and 70s. The societal shift on what’s acceptable and what isn’t is showcased in this book. Chipped nails or patterned clothing was also frowned upon because she was “Elvis’s doll, his own living doll, to fashion as he pleased.”

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. 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.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. Priscilla Presley had the GREATEST RESPONSIBILITY cast upon her when Vernon Presley died thereby leaving the entire Estate to Lisa Marie (who Priscilla had to care for and make business decisions accordingly). 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. Elvis and Me is a book worthy of being read by Elvis Fans...and others looking for a "good read" that shares details about a complicated relationship between a young woman and a man suffering from the lost of his beloved Mother while in the Army in another land. Their love overcame geography, age, and much more. 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.

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." 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. 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.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. 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." In his search for a "higher state of consciousness", Presley became fascinated with the occult and metaphysical phenomena. During his spiritual quest, everyone around them saw Presley's personality change dramatically, from vibrant and playful to passive and introverted. Presley went through a period of celibacy, in keeping with the teachings of an Indian guru. "He was going through a cleansing period, physically and spiritually... He loved me and deeply wanted to be faithful to me but never felt certain that he could resist temptation. It was a persistent battle, and it even got to the point where he felt he had to resist me." For the next few weeks, Elvis felt the need to withdraw himself from the temptations of sex. He said, "We have to control our desires so they don't control us. If we can control sex, then we can master all other desires." When they were in bed, "he took his usual dose of sleeping pills, handed me mine, and then, fighting off drowsiness from the pills, pored over his metaphysical books." Priscilla was not interested, and recalled Elvis saying, "Things will never work out between us, Cilla, because you don't show any interest in me or my philosophies." I have enjoyed this book since the first day it was available for sale. As much as I respect what she wrote in the book I have even more respect for...what she left out.

Elvis’s blatant manipulation… lord, girl, RUN “He was truly a master at manipulating people.” If that isn’t cringe, I don’t know what is. 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. Rather than being the single event that the family anticipated, Elvis made their visits regular ones; when her parents balked, Elvis spoke to them personally, turning all of his charismatic charm on them, and telling them everything they wanted to hear. Most of it was untrue, of course, but the one thing he adhered to was not having sexual intercourse. During this time period, the Madonna-Whore dichotomy was alive and well, and any girl or woman known to have sex outside of marriage was likely to be ostracized by former friends and in some cases, family. It’s hard to imagine now, but at that time, no birth control pill had been invented, and a pregnancy outside of marriage was likely to ruin a young woman’s entire life.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. I have to feel for the bind her parents were in. On the one hand, she was just fourteen years old, and Presley was twenty-four, a grown man. On the other hand, if they refused to let her go, she would never have forgiven them; this was an invitation that literally millions of girls yearned for. Seeking a happy medium, her stepdad set boundaries: they were to be chaperoned, never alone together, and he wanted her home at a certain time. He groused about the fact that someone other than Elvis would be transporting her, but the reason was a legitimate one: Elvis could not drive himself anywhere without the car being mobbed. It was genuinely unsafe. I think Priscilla was a victim, a groomed child; that Elvis was toxic, verbally abusive, gaslighting, possessive, controlling and that eeeveryone around them, especially Priscilla’s *parents* should have seen and *acted on* all those red effing flags 🚩 for their 14 year old child! Who am I to say if the love was real… but I have a hard time grappling with the fact that it was allowed to happen. That no one stepped in. Sorry, but I DONT believe they waited for marriage to do the ol’ hanky-panky.

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