Lisa Marie Presley Was Taking 80 Pills a Day at Height of Her Opioid Addiction: 'It Was Too Painful to Be Sober'

Mar. 15, 2025

Lisa Marie Presley in 2015.Photo:Bryan Steffy/WireImage

Bryan Steffy/WireImage

In her posthumous memoirFrom Here to the Great Unknown,Lisa Marie Presleyopens up even deeper about heropioid addiction.

Lisa Marie — who died at age 54 in January 2023 of a small bowel obstruction, a long-term complication from bariatric surgery — had long been candid about how she became addicted to prescription painkillers following the 2008 birth of hertwins Finley and Harper(with ex Michael Lockwood, her husband from 2006 to 2021).

But now, for the first time, she’s unveiling just how intense her addiction got.

“It escalated to 80 pills a day,” Lisa Marie writes. “It took more and more to get high, and I honestly don’t know when your body decides it can’t deal with it anymore. But it does decide at some point.”

Lisa Marie writes that for a couple of years her drug use was “recreational,” but then “it wasn’t.”

“It was an absolute matter of addiction, withdrawal in the big leagues,” she writes. “I just wanted to check out. It was too painful to be sober.”

Riley Keough and Lisa Marie Presley at the “Commando: The Autobiography of Johnny Ramone” launch party in April 2012 in West Hollywood.John Sciulli/WireImage

John Sciulli/WireImage

After being hospitalized for her addiction, Lisa Marie was sent to court-ordered rehab in L.A. There, Riley writes her mom decided to have bariatric surgery.

“I didn’t feel she was ready to be sober,” Riley writes.

Riley Keough and Lisa Marie Presley in Los Angeles in October 2017.Neilson Barnard/Getty

Neilson Barnard/Getty

To finishFrom Here to the Great Unknown, Riley listened to taped memories her mom had recorded. Riley told PEOPLE in an exclusive email interview for last week’s cover story that her “mom’s descent into addiction” was an “incredibly difficult” chapter to write, as were the chapters about her death and the2020 suicide death of her brother Benjaminafter his own struggle with addiction.

Riley hopes the book sheds new light on who her mother was.

“I hope that in an extraordinary circumstance, people relate to a very human experience of love, heartbreak, loss, addiction and family,” she said. “[My mom] wanted to write a book in the hopes that someone could read her story and relate to her, to know that they’re not alone in the world. Her hope with this book was just human connection. So that’s mine.”

From Here to the Great Unknownis available now.

source: people.com