Riley Keough Is Still 'Trying to Make Sense of' Mom Lisa Marie Presley and Brother Benjamin's Deaths (Exclusive)

Riley Keough recording the From Here to the Great Unknown audiobook.Photo:Cory Osborne Cory Osborne Riley Keoughis opening up about the back-to-back tragedies of losing her brother Benjamin Keough and motherLisa Marie Presley. “It went from joy for 25 years of my life to this nightmare in about a year and a half,” theDaisy Jones & the Sixactress tells PEOPLE. “I had an instinct Ben was the love of my mom’s life,” Riley writes.

Riley Keough Reveals the Sweet Nickname Her Mom Lisa Marie Presley Gave Her Daughter Tupelo, 2 (Exclusive)

Riley Keough and Lisa Marie Presley in 2017.Photo:WWD/Penske Media via Getty WWD/Penske Media via Getty Lisa Marie Presleyhad an adorable nickname for her2-year-old granddaughter Tupelo. In an exclusive excerpt of the late star’sposthumous memoir,From Here to the Great Unknown, featured in this week’s PEOPLE cover story, Lisa Marie’s daughterRiley Keough, Tupelo’s mom, reveals that Lisa Marie “would call Tupelo our little light.” The news of Tupelo’s birth was first revealed during Lisa Marie’s memorial service at Graceland in Memphis, Tenn.

Riley Keough Says Her Goal as Graceland’s Owner Is 'Simply to Preserve Our Family Home' (Exclusive)

Riley Keough in June 2024.Photo:John Salangsang/IndieWire via GettyGracelandis in solid hands withRiley Keough.Since August 2023, theDaisy Jones & the Sixactress, 35, has acted as thesole trusteeof her late momLisa Marie Presley’sestate and the owner of her grandfatherElvis Presley’sbeloved Memphis, Tenn., mansion.“My hope is to continue what my grandmother [Priscilla Presley] did, and then my mother did, which is simply to preserve our family home," Riley tells PEOPLE via email for this week’s cover story.

Riley Keough Says Lisa Marie Presley 'Wouldn't Care' About Reaction to Keeping Son's Body on Dry Ice (Exclusive)

Benjamin Keough and Lisa Marie Presley.Photo:DAVE M. BENETT/GETTY IMAGES DAVE M. BENETT/GETTY IMAGES Lisa Marie Presleyalways lived life on her own terms. That’s why the late star’s daughterRiley Keoughtells PEOPLE her mom “wouldn’t care what people said” about her decision to keep her sonBenjamin Keough’s body on dry icefor two months after his death, in a separate casitas bedroom in their home in Los Angeles. “The truth is that it was COVID and the plans to bury him were really unclear,” says Riley, 35.

Riley Keough Says Mom Lisa Marie Presley 'Died of a Broken Heart' After Son Benjamin’s Death (Exclusive)

Lisa Marie Presley with her kids Riley and Benjamin Keough and her brother Navarone Garibaldi.Photo: CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Riley Keoughis opening up about the deep toll grief took on her late momLisa Marie Presley. “My mom tried her best to find strength for me and my younger sisters after Ben died, but we knew how much pain she was in,” says Riley, 35. “My mom physically died from the after effects of her surgery, but we all knew she died of a broken heart.