Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Elvis and Me by Sandra Harmon, Priscilla Presley

32 reviews

kylasmv15's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

4.0


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karydiazc's review against another edition

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emotional funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

I think Priscila went through a lot in her relationship with Elvis. It definetely wasn't a healthy relationship and at the moment of writing this book, I don't think she fully realized how emotionaly abusive it all was.

I listened to the audiobook, so it was really cute hearing her little laughs at some mories and recolections, however it also felt awkward to hear that same cute laugh right after hearing how she would find excuses for Elvis' toxic behavior.

I was really happy when she started findind herself, even if what lead to those moments was realizing how the relationship she always hoped for would never be.

Her life next to Elvis was both wonderful and sad. I think she found those wonderfull moments so great that she was willing to put up with the rest.

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amachonis's review against another edition

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emotional informative lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

3.0


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ellie_rowo's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0


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bmf223's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative medium-paced

3.5


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emma_b_rhodes's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

3.5

WEIRD listening experience. If u read it I wanna talk to you about it. 

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underwaterlauren's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.75


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sierrajhansen's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny informative lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

the relationship between priscilla beaulieu and elvis presley is truly astonishing—it’s truly a y/n fanfiction come to life, but with grooming and toxicity. it’s really interesting how you can love someone so much, even when they have done truly terrible things to you and stopped you from having a childhood that didn’t revolve around them. i’m proud of priscilla for making her own way in the world and making peace with the situation.

btw, this book scratched the psych part of my brain; throughout reading, i continuously wondered, “did elvis have a personality disorder?” much to think about. 

this was also really awesome as an audiobook—read by priscilla, i loved hearing her stories in her own voice, and i’m obsessed with the fact that when she would giggle at the end of telling a funny story from her past with elvis, they kept it in the recording :) made it a million times better.

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sillybillybooklover's review against another edition

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4.5

A heavy read. Although Priscilla doesn't label it as such, this autobiography details the grooming and emotional abuse of a child by a 24-28 year old man. It changed my view of Elvis and left me feeling sick. 

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siijayreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

"I knew that I must take control of my life. I could not give up these new insights. There was a whole world out there and I had to find my own place in it."

Such a revealing, jarring, and insightful memoir. Before this, my knowledge about Elvis Presley was limited aside from knowing he is the singer of the most popular hits songs I often hear on the radio when I was young. Having read this book gave me so much perspective about what the world was like back then which became even more special in the lens of someone who is in close proximity with a famous person. I only knew of Priscilla because she's the grandmother of Riley Keough, whom I have known since she’s friends with my favorite actress. I also heard a lot of controversies regarding her and Elvis' relationship and I got intrigued but didn't bother to really delve deeper into it. It wasn't until the recent Priscilla movie, which was based on this book, that I finally learned that this book exists, and it finally convinced me to read it. I listened to the audiobook and the experience was magnified because it was narrated by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley herself! I honestly didn't expect anything diving into this book but it certainly left me with so many reflections in life and I'm surprised that I can relate to some of Priscilla's internal struggles.

Throughout the book, I felt a myriad of emotions. A sense of protectiveness for teenage Priscilla who was about to become enamored with an older man, anger and shock for the things she went through while being in that relationship, sadness when the moment she realizes she's slowly losing herself, contagious joy for little things that makes her happy, and pride for the woman she slowly became after years of abandoning her needs for a man and untangling herself from those toxic cycle. I love those moments where she stood up for herself. This book also is a perfect example of how love makes us blind and tolerant of the things we don't deserve and how it makes us act more impulsively. We let others treat us badly because we're more afraid of losing them.

Priscilla spent a significant number of years in her life being tied to Elvis while she slowly lost herself in the process. It was so heartbreaking. While she did find happiness in all those years, the moment she freed herself from him, which was narrated during the latter part of the book, was one of the most refreshing and inspiring reads I've had in a while. I love stories where women break out of their shells and blossom from the inside and out. It was such an engaging experience listening to Priscilla narrate her own story. Her little laughs while reading particular sections from the book make me think she went back in time reliving the scene. I recommend this to anyone who wants to delve into reading nonfiction books!

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