Lisa Marie Presley might not post photos of her life as frequently as other celebrity users on social media, but one photo shared to her account most recently continues to draw in a barrage of comments from fans.
On April 18, Presley took to Instagram to share a rare snapshot of all her four children together with daughter, Riley Keough’s husband and fellow actor, Ben Smith-Peterson.
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“Tea time at The Plaza,” Presley captioned the photo of her children, Riley, Benjamin and twins, Finley and Harper alongside a heart emoji. The photo has raked in more than 15,000 likes and since its initial posting this past April, has sustained a steady response from fans absolutely smitten with the snapshot.
“It is good to see you’re doing good, I’m proud of you, the most important thing is to be a parent,” one user wrote five days ago.
“Everything you need is in this beautiful picture,” another added a week ago.
“You are a beautiful woman with beautiful children that need you in their lives for a very long time,” wrote another just days ago. “Take care of yourself and remember there are lots of people that love you and want to see you healthy and living life to the fullest. Time with family is the greatest moments in life.”
While fans might be returning to her account for the sheer fact of being a fan and admiring the singer/songwriter and daughter of rock and roll legend, Elvis Presley, a slew of comments touched base on a recent essay the 51-year-old shared this past month about her opioid addiction.
“I just wanted to say I am so happy to see you finally reveal your truth to the world. I lost my 24-year old son and only child 3 years and 2 months ago due to addiction,” one user wrote just days ago. “I have always loved you and your music, but now I have also gained an enormous respect and appreciation for you for your honesty. You have no idea how many people may be helped due to your willingness to open up about it. Thank you and continued success.”
“I too have struggled,” another user disclosed. “I commend you for sharing. Too many people keep it secret. And shame is the worst. Its (sic) nice to have a close family…Mine is not, due to this disease. It is in the genes……”
After years of barely mentioning her issues with drugs in public, Presley shared intimate details about her problems with addiction in a foreword for the book, The United States of Opioids: A Prescription for Liberating a Nation in Pain by Harry Nelson. In the essay published earlier this month, Presley said she is “grateful to be alive today,” adding how over the years, she has lost people close to her and has since fallen prey to opioids.
“I was recovering after the [2008] birth of my daughters, Vivienne and Finley, when a doctor prescribed me opioids for pain. It only took a short-term prescription of opioids in the hospital for me to feel the need to keep taking them.”
Though Presley admitted she was hesitant of writing about her issues at first, she described it in the foreword as “a difficult path to overcome this dependence, and to put my life back together.
“Even in recent years, I have seen too many people I loved struggle with addiction and die tragically from this epidemic. It is time for us to say goodbye to shame about addiction. We have to stop blaming and judging ourselves and the people around us… That starts with sharing our stories.”
Presley admits she never openly spoke about her own struggles in public and was not sure how to even go about sharing such a personal topic. However, she decided to open up in order to help other people who are struggling with their sobriety.
“Across America and the world, people are dying in mind-boggling numbers because of opioid and other drug overdoses,” she continued. “Many more people are suffering silently, addicted to opioids and other substances. I am writing this in the hope that I can play a small part in focusing attention on this terrible crisis. I experienced firsthand how hard it is to cut through all of the bad information out there to get help. We all need to educate ourselves and the people around us on the dangers of opioids and other drugs, and understand what we can do to keep ourselves and the people we love safe…. Acknowledging that we are all at risk is not a measure of weakness, but of honesty.”
The singer mentioned her children as the reason for her sobriety and the “countless parents who have lost children to opioids and other drugs.”
“[I’m] grateful to be alive today… and to have four beautiful children who have given me a sense of purpose that has carried me through dark times,” she added.
Photo credit: Instagram / Lisa Marie Presley
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