Riley Keough On Love, Loss, & Continuing Lisa Marie Presley & Elvis Presley's Story & Legacy

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast – Riley Keough On Love, Loss, & Continuing Lisa Marie Presley & Elvis Presley's Story & Legacy

Release Date: December 9, 2024

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Introduction

In this heartfelt episode of The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast, hosts Lauren Evarts Bosstick and Michael Bosstick engage in a profound conversation with actress and author Riley Keough. The discussion delves deep into themes of love, loss, and the enduring legacy of Riley's parents—Lisa Marie Presley and the iconic Elvis Presley. Throughout the episode, Riley shares her personal journey of grief, the process of co-authoring a book with her late mother, and navigating life in the shadow of immense family fame.

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Discovering Riley Keough

Lauren Evarts Bosstick begins by recounting her first encounter with Riley Keough through the television show The Girlfriend Experience. “I was sitting at home alone... and up pops The Girlfriend Experience. I was like, this is so juicy. Who is this girl? She's amazing” (00:08). This initial admiration sets the stage for a deeper exploration of Riley's life and work.

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Riley’s Journey with Her Mother’s Tapes and Book

Riley shares the emotional labor involved in co-writing a memoir with her mother, Lisa Marie Presley. She reflects on the intensity of the experience: “This was a very different experience. It was very intense and very heavy... it was really cathartic” (00:21). Unlike her acting roles, Riley never previously tapped into her personal trauma, making this venture uniquely challenging yet therapeutic.

Lauren expresses her fascination with the authenticity of the memoir, contrasting it with other celebrity memoirs that often lack depth. Riley explains how her mother recorded extensive tapes over the last five years of her life, capturing raw and unfiltered memories: “She was gonna write her own book... the honesty in the tapes was everything that's in the book” (03:42). These tapes became the foundation of their book, ensuring that every challenging aspect of her mother's life was transparently shared.

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Family Legacy: Living in Elvis Presley's Shadow

The discussion naturally transitions to the pervasive legacy of Elvis Presley and its impact on Riley and her family. Michael Bosstick muses on the unparalleled fame of Elvis compared to today’s celebrity culture: “Elvis is arguably maybe one of the most famous people throughout the history of the world” (07:29). Riley agrees, noting the unique position her grandfather holds: “It's a really singular experience” (07:48).

Riley reflects on how her mother viewed Elvis not just as a legendary figure but as a loving father, emphasizing their personal bond: “She was a daddy's girl... the loss of him was really, like, dictated her life” (09:13). This personal connection to a global icon adds layers of complexity to their family dynamics and public perception.

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Navigating Grief and Loss

A pivotal moment in the conversation centers around Riley's brother's tragic death. She opens up about the profound grief that followed: “It's like the most fucked up experience” (35:08). The hosts and Riley discuss the perpetual nature of grief, with Riley sharing her coping mechanisms and the ongoing process of healing: “Grief is so big and changes all the time... I just try and stay present in, like, the uncomfortable moments” (35:40).

Riley also touches on the societal discomfort surrounding death and suicide, highlighting the isolation she felt: “Nobody really knew what to say, and it was really uncomfortable for everybody else” (42:25). This led her to train as a death doula, aiming to make conversations about death less stigmatized and more supportive for others facing similar struggles.

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Parenting Through Trauma and Legacy

The episode delves into Riley's upbringing amidst celebrity pressures. She discusses her mother's strict yet loving parenting style, which shielded her and her siblings from the chaos of Hollywood: “She was really loving and firm... we have good manners. We felt really loved” (15:35). Despite the external pressures, Riley credits her parents for providing a stable and nurturing environment.

When it comes to her own parenting, Riley shares the challenges of balancing professional responsibilities with raising her child while grappling with unresolved grief: “It's a lot. And I do work a lot... He holds it down and lets me work, which is amazing” (55:31). Her relationship with her husband is portrayed as a cornerstone of emotional stability: “He's the most solid person ever and very, like, stable emotionally” (54:32).

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Building an Independent Legacy

Riley emphasizes her efforts to establish her own identity separate from her family's legacy. She highlights the differences between her mother's and her own experiences with fame: “I didn't grow up as famous as she did” (21:35). This distinction has allowed Riley to pursue an acting career without the constant overshadowing presence of her grandfather's fame, providing her with a sense of normalcy and personal achievement.

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The Book’s Impact and Legacy

Riley expresses her surprise and gratitude for the positive reception of the book: “I didn't think it was gonna be a bestseller” (59:37). She appreciates how the memoir resonated with people on a human level, breaking down the mythologized view of her family: “It was very human stuff” (60:38). The hosts commend the book's ability to make Riley's story relatable and accessible, highlighting its role in transforming public perception.

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Conclusion

The episode concludes with thoughtful reflections on the importance of sharing personal narratives and supporting one another through grief. Riley and the hosts discuss the potential for future projects, such as memoirs and documentaries, that continue to explore and honor their family’s legacy while fostering genuine human connections.

Notable Quotes:

• Riley Keough: “When I'm acting, I don't, like, recall my own trauma... it was really cathartic because I think that there's really something in sharing your story...” (00:21)

• Michael Bosstick: “Elvis is arguably maybe one of the most famous people throughout the history of the world” (07:29)

• Riley Keough: “Grief is so big and changes all the time... I just try and stay present in, like, the uncomfortable moments” (35:40)

• Riley Keough: “I did feel like this was something I needed to do, but I wasn't like, oh, I'm so excited to do this...” (05:36)

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Final Thoughts

This episode of The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast offers a deeply personal look into Riley Keough's life, her family's storied legacy, and the enduring impact of love and loss. Through candid conversations, Riley provides listeners with invaluable insights into navigating grief, building an independent identity, and the power of honest storytelling.

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Note: Timestamps correspond to moments within the provided transcript to aid listeners in locating specific discussions.

Transcript

[Michael Bostic]

The following podcast is a Dear Media Production. She's a lifestyle blogger extraordinaire.

[Lauren Everts]

Fantastic.

[Michael Bostic]

And he's a serial entrepreneur, a very smart cookie. And now Lauren Everts and Michael Bostic are bringing you along for the ride.

[Lauren Everts]

Get ready for some major realness.

[Michael Bostic]

Welcome to the Skinny Confidential. Him and her.

[Riley Keough]

Aha. Well, I've never done anything, like. I've done a lot of heavy work as an actor, but never anything that's, like, real. When I'm acting, I don't, like, recall my own trauma. Like, I don't really use my own stuff. So this was a very different experience. And it was very intense and very heavy. And so, honestly, I was, like, very happy for it to be over, and I was happy to be done writing it, but it was really cathartic because I think that there's really something in sharing your story and just being really honest and open that helps you process what happened.

[Lauren Everts]

I first discovered you. What do you think I'm gonna say?

[Riley Keough]

I don't know, like, something weird.

[Lauren Everts]

I was sitting at home alone. I was looking for a show to watch. This is years ago.

[Riley Keough]

Okay.

[Lauren Everts]

And up pops the girlfriend experience, if.

[Riley Keough]

That feels on brand.

[Lauren Everts]

And I was like, this is so juicy. I'm like, who is this girl? She's amazing.

[Riley Keough]

That's so funny. What a fun show to film. It was. It was really fun.

[Lauren Everts]

Tell Michael what that is so he can. You're not gonna have.

[Riley Keough]

It's just about, you know, women who are escorts but offer, like, a full girlfriend experience, basically.

[Michael Bostic]

I'll put it on my. Up next.

[Lauren Everts]

Yeah, I could use a break, too, if you could find one of those. Sometimes I just need a little space.

[Michael Bostic]

I'm gonna watch it. I'll watch it on the plane ride home.

[Lauren Everts]

Riley, welcome to the show.

[Riley Keough]

Thank you. I'm so happy to be here.

[Lauren Everts]

So we're so happy to have you. I have told you multiple times, your book was so, so amazing. You and your mother's book that you both wrote together. It was so beautiful and so open and so vulnerable, and it was honestly shocking because sometimes you read celebrity memoirs and you're like.

[Riley Keough]

You're like. You're not telling me anything.

[Lauren Everts]

I'm not gonna name the person that I'm talking about, but there is a very famous person that. I was just reading her biography. I was so excited to read it. And the whole entire. I had to stop it halfway through. Was positioning herself as a hero. There was no. There was no, like, openness about anything. It was just about how great she was, which is awesome. But, like, we need to see a little behind the scenes.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah. I think that. That, like, my mom was so, like, raw and authentic and herself, that the only version of an autobiography would be a version where it was kind of just everything out there. And when I got the tapes that she'd recorded, she'd basically recorded 16 tapes of her entire life story. Cause she was gonna write her own book. And then she passed away. So I got these tapes, and the honesty in the tapes. She's talking to somebody who she doesn't really know well, who she's planning on writing this book with. And her honesty in the tapes was everything that's in the book. So I kind of, you know, if she didn't want it in the book, she wouldn't have said it in the tapes. So I think that she had always just planned on being really straightforward about difficult things like her addiction and her grief and the loss of her father. And I was quite surprised at how open she was willing to be.

[Lauren Everts]

How did you even go about getting, like, listening to those tapes? Was it. You had to. You mentioned off air. You had to, like, pace yourself into it?

[Riley Keough]

Yeah. Well, it was like, three months after she died. So it was or a couple months after she died that I got them. And I was putting it off because it felt very intense. I don't know. I mean, I'm sure many people listening have lost parents. And just hearing their voice is really jarring. Like a photo is jarring sometimes if you're not expecting it. But the voice is very, like, visceral. And so I prepared for it. And I put my headphones in and laid down because I knew it was gonna be emotional. And then I started at tape one, which was her first memory in her childhood.

[Michael Bostic]

And did she film these all in a period of time, or was this throughout her life that she was filming?

[Riley Keough]

It was over the last five years of her life. And it was all being recalled, actually, after my brother died. So she was in grief for a lot of. Like, a lot of the tone of her book was through the grief of losing her son. And so I think that one with that said, like, there's so much humor and, like. And love and all of those things in the tapes as well. But the weird thing was, is that after a few minutes, it started to just feel like she was on the phone and there, which was then hard to hang up, you know, because I felt like I was just in the room or something while she was chatting with a friend or something. And then slowly, my method sort of changed. And I switched into, like, the writer brain part of me that was like, okay, now I need to structure this, and here's this story, and this is great. And whatever.

[Lauren Everts]

She writes screenplays, too.

[Michael Bostic]

Oh, no, I'm aware. But how long throughout your grief process till you jumped into, like, how long after it passed till you decided to go into that?

[Riley Keough]

It was pretty quick. And I think that that's because it came from a place of, like, when someone passes away and you feel like there's all these loose ends that you need to tie up. That was one of them. Like, this book was something she was mid process. And it just felt like this thing I needed to do. And I wasn't like, oh, I'm so excited to do this. I was more like, I don't want to do this, but I'm going, but I have to. It kind of felt like. So at the beginning, yeah, it was very much like. Just felt like a task, sort of. And then I started enjoying it.

[Lauren Everts]

The book, maybe it doesn't start, but it begins with your mom being 9 or 7 years old. I can't remember. And seeing Elvis being carried out in front of her. And it seems like your mom had had so many intense things happen. There's like a string throughout her whole life. And it seemed like that was the.

[Michael Bostic]

Thing, that that was the age when her. When he passed. That's how old she was.

[Riley Keough]

She was nine. She was nine when he passed.

[Michael Bostic]

Which, by the way, side tangent. Like, I was. We were thinking about this on the show. Like, all right, now we talk about this and we're like, okay. Like, fame has changed.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah. Now totally.

[Michael Bostic]

What I was saying is that's really.

[Riley Keough]

Important because in this time, it's important context. There's five people, you know, and I.

[Michael Bostic]

Was sitting here the other. We were in the car literally yesterday. Ariel was there, and I was like, it's crazy because sometimes we'll meet people doing what we do. And I'm like, how do I not know more about? They got like 30 million people following, or 25. And I think it's because the world now can follow so many people and we see so many. But Elvis, your grandfather, is arguably maybe one of the most famous people throughout. In the history of the world.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah, right. Like.

[Michael Bostic]

Like, there's not people. Like, people like, who are you talking like, yeah, like, that had to be strange for not only you, but your family seeing that level of fame compared to now, because. And then also Michael Jackson, too. But there's certain people that are like, I don't think that level of notoriety.

[Riley Keough]

It doesn't really exist.

[Michael Bostic]

I don't think it can exist anymore.

[Riley Keough]

It doesn't really. It's kind of. I mean. Yeah, it was definitely, I think, a really singular experience and that. I think that maybe it exists for, like, Kim Kardashian.

[Michael Bostic]

No, I don't even think that. Lauren and I went to Beijing, China, one time.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah, you just said.

[Michael Bostic]

This is not a comment on that. I just. We were there and like, they didn't know who. I mean, at the time, they didn't know who she was. And they. There were certain people they didn't know. And there was like, you know, people Knew, like, Ronald McDonald, Santa Claus and Elvis.

[Riley Keough]

Right, right. Yeah, totally. Like Jesus or something.

[Michael Bostic]

Jesus.

[Riley Keough]

Totally.

[Michael Bostic]

But now, I mean, I. Maybe you could say someone like Trump is known throughout the world, but there's very few. And he's the president, United States, but there's very few people that I think the entire world knows about now.

[Riley Keough]

Right. And the crazy thing about that is he didn't even travel internationally or tour international. Cause he just toured America. Isn't that wild?

[Lauren Everts]

It's interesting seeing Elvis through your mother's eyes, because to her, that was her dad.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah.

[Lauren Everts]

And it was interesting how your mom sees everyone around him. And I also got to read your grandmother's book, and your grandmother had a very similar perspective of Elvis. It was her significant other.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah.

[Lauren Everts]

It wasn't like Elvis. Yeah. So that was interesting. And it seemed like through the book that your mother idolized her father as a daughter, not as a fan.

[Riley Keough]

Totally, totally. I think she would get, like, a kick out of the certain moments with him, like coming to her school or whatever. But she was the kind of person who, like, was kind of the wrong person to be born into this life. Like, hated attention, didn't want anything to do with it, wasn't. Didn't want to be famous, you know, and so I think that that. But they had a really special relationship. And I think that he was a really loving father to her and the best father he could be. And I think that the loss of him was really, like, dictated her life, in a sense.

[Lauren Everts]

Do you think that maybe your mom didn't like attention because she saw what attention did to her dad?

[Riley Keough]

She probably just got so much of it, you know, that it was, like, intense, I guess. I think that, like, speaking of, like, the grief, in the book, she kind of talks about the funeral service and, like, fans coming into the house and watching people fainting and getting carried away by ambulances and like, the. This sort of, like, global grief of someone that's very personal to you, I think was a really strange experience for her because I think that it didn't really leave room for her to have her own personal grief. And therefore, I don't think she ever really processed the loss of him. And it was something she kept very close to her vest. And actually, until this book, like, she never talked about the day that he died.

[Lauren Everts]

It's almost like other people took ownership over his death. And so it's like she. Like you said, she wasn't left to have the feelings that she could have.

[Riley Keough]

Right.

[Lauren Everts]

It's interesting to me that, too, that she ended up dating Michael Jackson because he. He. Like. Like, it's the same kind of thing.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah.

[Lauren Everts]

It's almost like you're always attracted to one of your parents.

[Riley Keough]

Right.

[Lauren Everts]

It's like Freud.

[Michael Bostic]

It's weird shit, but it's like we're just. I'm just trying to think, like, the who, like, where that would response would exist in this world. Like, people would be. But it's just so. It's a crazy thing to think that the entire world is paying attention to the passing of a family member.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah, I know. Yeah, it is crazy. I mean, I don't know any different. So, like, it's just regular. It's regular, but I can understand that it's crazy.

[Lauren Everts]

When you were a little girl and your mom would tell you about her dad and her mom, how would she describe it? In the same way she described it in the book, kind of.

[Riley Keough]

I mean, she just would tell us stories about him. And a lot of the stories that are in the book, she would just tell us as kids, like, especially if we were in Memphis, she'd say, like, this happened here and this happened here, and there was so much love there. But she wouldn't really talk about her grief very much until I was, you know, in my mid-20s. But she would talk about him often and, you know, how much she was a daddy's girl and the loss of him.

[Lauren Everts]

Did you realize when you were. When you guys would go to Graceland and stay in the room and there was tours out, like, there was, like, tours happening, and she was in the room with her mom and brother, and they would, like, you have to wait in the room. Did you realize how crazy that was at a young age, or do you have no concept of it?

[Riley Keough]

So we didn't do that when we were little. That was more in our 20s.

[Lauren Everts]

I thought it was when you were little.

[Riley Keough]

No, we were actually, like, me and my brother were, like, probably 20 and 23.

[Lauren Everts]

Okay.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah. But we would. My mom went through a phase where she wanted to stay at Graceland, upstairs in her dad's room, which is not part of the tour. And if we didn't get out of there early enough, then we would basically be stuck there until the tours ended. So the security would kind of like, bring us McDonald's or whatever.

[Lauren Everts]

Did you understand, like, Graceland when you were that age? Did you understand why there was people touring it? Did you understand how people were so attached to the story of it?

[Riley Keough]

I don't think there was ever a point when my mom, like, had a conversation with us. I think it was just the around always. So I think that I never know how to answer this question. Cause it was just something that was normal to us. But I was aware of the love and the fans and the whole thing.

[Lauren Everts]

It seems like she did a good job of protecting you guys in your childhood from all of the. The stuff that comes along with Hollywood.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah, she did. I mean, look, like the. The 90s were really crazy for her. And especially, like, right before she married Michael and after she married Michael was really intense. Like, paparazzi, paparazzi and like, people in our trees and like, a million security and like, just very, like, people kind of throwing their bodies at the car. Like, just really kind of chaotic.

[Michael Bostic]

And how old were you during all this?

[Riley Keough]

Probably, like, when I was born until. Well, probably, like 3, until 12. It was the craziest, I would say.

[Lauren Everts]

Yeah.

[Michael Bostic]

I think for people that are, like, listening, it sounds insane, but for you, it was probably just like, this is just my childhood. You don't know, because you don't know any different.

[Riley Keough]

No, I don't. And I reflect on it, and I know that it's unique, but at the time, it was just like, this is just, you know. And now, like, my life is very simple. So I think that definitely it had an effect on me. You know, I don't want that lifestyle.

[Lauren Everts]

Do people tell you that throughout the book? You seem like you're. There's, like, a element to you that you're, like, the one that's in control even as a child. Like, you're. You seem like you're organized. You seem like, in a way, like a little bit of a parental energy.

[Riley Keough]

I definitely felt that, like, though my mom was very parental and very maternal and strict and, like, very much our mom. Like, you know, we'd never talk back. And, like, it was very different kind of parenting than there is now, but.

[Lauren Everts]

You know, there Wasn't gentle parenting.

[Riley Keough]

There wasn't gentle parenting though. She was really loving, you know, she was firm and very.

[Michael Bostic]

I think you could be loving and firm.

[Riley Keough]

She was. You know what? She was loving and firm. I actually think it was very effective parenting because we all turned out pretty great. But like, we have good manners. We felt really loved.

[Michael Bostic]

I loved my parents while at the same time I was also scared.

[Riley Keough]

Scared of them? Yeah.

[Michael Bostic]

Like, I didn't.

[Riley Keough]

Yes. Me and my husband talk about this all the time.

[Michael Bostic]

Yeah. I don't think that's a bad thing.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah.

[Michael Bostic]

Right.

[Riley Keough]

And look like I wasn't scared for my safety. I will say I was scared that my mom had a sort of Southern, like mama strength where we would never like, never. Like I have friends who grew up saying calling their parents names and stuff like that would have never flown in.

[Michael Bostic]

I did that one time in my house, one time to my dad. I'll just say that was the first and last time I ever did it.

[Riley Keough]

Exactly.

[Lauren Everts]

Yeah. That wasn't fun to see you after that.

[Michael Bostic]

Also, my mother was like a black belt in Tung Soo do. So she would just. They're just like. I watched her one time break a brick with her head.

[Riley Keough]

Right.

[Michael Bostic]

Never. Never mind.

[Riley Keough]

Exactly.

[Lauren Everts]

It seems like that you had such a good experience with Michael Jackson and you talked like. It seems like he seemed like a great guy. Is that correct?

[Riley Keough]

The only context in which I can talk to him about is like my actual experience as a six year old. And in my experience as a six year old, he was my stepfather who I was really attached to and I really cared for. And you know, they were very much married and very much a sort of normal couple. Even that sounds, I know that's, you know, people have a hard time conceptualizing that for, you know, but it was very like they would stayed in the house together and would take us to school. And so it was very like normal. And I think at that age you're. My mom had multiple partners and I did find myself being emotionally attached to almost all of them because it's like, I don't know, there's like someone in your house who's caretaking. You know that. Yeah. So I did feel close to him and I did really love him.

[Lauren Everts]

I understand that my dad had. If he's listening, sorry. He had a lot of different mates.

[Riley Keough]

Right.

[Lauren Everts]

And you. Do you form like a bond with them even if it is for six months?

[Riley Keough]

Yeah.

[Lauren Everts]

Or six days?

[Riley Keough]

Yes, daddy. Yeah, I know.

[Lauren Everts]

So I understand that.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah.

[Lauren Everts]

At what point of your childhood did you let your mom know that you wanted to go into the career that you're in, and was she like, no, or was she supportive?

[Michael Bostic]

Side note, is it weird for my wife to still call her dad Daddy?

[Lauren Everts]

Yeah, I call him Daddy.

[Riley Keough]

I think it's okay. My dad's in my phone as Daddy.

[Lauren Everts]

Yeah. And you like when I call you Daddy?

[Michael Bostic]

No.

[Lauren Everts]

But they want you to now, like, no.

[Michael Bostic]

I don't know.

[Riley Keough]

I think you have to choose one or the other.

[Michael Bostic]

I don't know. Papa.

[Riley Keough]

Papa and Daddy.

[Lauren Everts]

Big Papa.

[Riley Keough]

Big Papa.

[Lauren Everts]

Or I could call you little Papa.

[Michael Bostic]

That's even worse.

[Lauren Everts]

When you told your mom that you wanted to get into your career, was she like, fuck no, or was she, like, let it rip?

[Riley Keough]

She was definitely like, fuck no. But she also. She also, like, wanted to be supportive. I think that she didn't want me. She had so much, like. I think being the daughter or a child of a celebrity at that time was more kind of embarrassing than maybe it is now. Like, I think now it's kind of everyone does everything. And there's, like. I think that she. I think that her view on, like, celebrity children was. Or nepotism was, like, very cringy. Like, she was like, oh, don't just be, like, a celebrity kid who's out there trying to act. If you're gonna. If you're gonna do anything, you have to be the best at it, and you have to be really good and better than, you know, than. Or as good as your peers. And so I think there was a lot of. She put a lot of pressure on us to not sort of be a dilettante, I guess, or try things and, like, just to take it very seriously.

[Lauren Everts]

Well, you know how some people will be like, oh, that's that person's son, or that's that person's daughter. I think all three of the generations, especially having Elvis as a grandfather, have done a good job of differentiating themselves. Like, I look. I look at you as an actress, I look at your mom as her own, like, sort of entity. And then you look at Elvis. I think that's cool that you guys have been able to, like, establish your own niche and do it the best.

[Michael Bostic]

Well, it's always, like, people that come from prominent families or wealthy families, or they're always. They're always going to be from an outside perspective, shortchange, in a way, because no matter what accomplishments they have, either some people are going to say, well, they didn't deserve them and they were given them, or they're going to look and say, well, or they're not this person.

[Riley Keough]

Right.

[Michael Bostic]

And, you know, it's not like. I don't. I don't think people are crying tears for these people that. That have platforms or come from wealthy families. But it is. It's an interesting way to go through life when you are constantly being compared to a previous generation. That was well to do because it's kind of like, hey, I'm here, and I'm doing really great things. Like, I'd like some credit.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah.

[Michael Bostic]

But it's just, you know, I think that comes with anything. Like, if we. If we do well in life and later and our kids do things, they're. They're gonna be like, there's always gonna be the people that say, oh, well, they had this.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah. And you're also building a future for your children. So I don't know. I think that, like, in our case, it was very different generation to generation because you had my mother, who is Elvis's only child, so her ability to, like, have a career and be her own person, I think it was really hard for her. It was like, they look like each other. They have the same last name. It was, like, very much, you know.

[Michael Bostic]

And it was of that time.

[Riley Keough]

It was of that time, and it was kind of like there was never really a chance for her to, like, have her own identity, I don't think. Whereas for me, we have a different last name. I kind of wasn't. I didn't grow up as famous as she did. Kind of, like, I didn't. We were photographed all the time, but it was for my mom. You know what I mean? Like, it wasn't like they were chasing. I mean, for the most part, me and my brother. So I was able to, like, have an acting career before, you know, for many years, where it, like, people didn't necessarily even know my family, who my family were, which I felt really lucky about because I watched my mom really struggle with that. And so I think in her case, it was much more of a hindrance than in my case. I think that it's been. I've been luckier with that.

[Michael Bostic]

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[Lauren Everts]

My friends has a baby, I say the same thing. I think I've hacked the code to sleep with kids. I really do. There's a couple tips I have for you if you're a new mom out there or a new dad. So I keep the room super dark. Andrew Huberman told me this tip and he said the room needs to be completely dark, no light. So that's the first tip. And then I make sure that there's not any kind of light from the diaper wipe machine, anything. There's no light. And then what I'll do is I'll put 528Hz on and I will always use my Dreamland Baby Gently weighted sleep sack. Both my kids use this. It's absolutely a game changer. If you are Looking for your children to sleep through the night. This is what I figure. My son associates sleep with this gently weighted sock. So when I pull it out, he knows it's time to go to bed. So I've essentially like trained him, if you will. And then it's slightly weighted so it kind of relaxes his nervous system. So he goes to bed peacefully and stays asleep. I am such a big fan of this brand. It's really pretty. It's quality material. It holds up after washes. It's a better sleep for Michael and I to better sleep for you. Because when the baby sleeps, the whole family sleeps. You guys have to check it out. It has cover calm technology which is like evenly distributed weight from shoulders to toes. Dreamland Baby gave you guys a code. You can go to dreamlandbabyco.com and enter our code skinny at checkout. You receive 20% off sitewide plus free shipping. This offer is for new and existing customers only. Go to dreamlandbabyco.com and enter code skinny. I've had quite the journey with my hair. It was shedding after my first baby and I really took matters into my own hands. So things that have helped my hair are scalp massage, a lot of scalp massage. I do it all the time. I think that stimulates growth. I also do micro needling on my scalp. I do it myself at home. It's super simple. It just really helps grow the hair. And then also I eat a lot of organs, so I'll eat like my ancestral blend of meat. I'll do a little liver, a little heart in there. And the supplement that I use for hair is Nutrafol. So if you have hair thinning, if you have shedding hair issues, if you're like me and you just notice little pieces of hair on your silk pillowcase, this is a good one to try. It has a really proactive approach and it targets the root cause. If you haven't heard of Nutrafol, it's the number dermatologist recommended hair growth supplement brand. It's crazy. It's trusted by over a million people. They're seeing thicker, stronger, faster growing hair with less shedding. In three to six months with Nutrafol for me, I saw less shedding. That's been the biggest game changer and my hair has never been thicker and I'm not wearing extensions anymore. So that has been a really fun thing to watch and experience. It's 100% drug free ingredients. Nutrafol supplements support healthy hair growth. Just targeting everything from within, whether you're Gifting yourself or a loved one. You guys can give the gift of great hair growth this holiday season. Right now, Nutrafol is offering our listeners $10 off any order. Enjoy free shipping when you subscribe. Go to NutraFool.com and enter promo code skinnyhairgift. That's NutraFool.com spelled N U T R-A F O L.com promo code skinnyhair gift. Go to nutrafool.com and enter promo code skinnyhairgift.

[Michael Bostic]

Did she not want you to go into this line of work or profession because of all of that in the comparison or because she also knows what comes along with having a public platform?

[Riley Keough]

I think the comparison, the comparison, I think it was mostly like she didn't want us to fail or feel like, like have the experience she had. Like when she, you know, she, she wrote records and put music out and she was a beautiful lyricist and a beautiful poet. And it was just, you know, the record labels, labels trying to make it more Elvis y and wanting her to do Elvis songs and duet the whole, you know. So I think that. And you know, she would, she had wonderful fans, but she also would have a lot of like, Elvis impersonators at her shows. And so it was, I think it was hard. Her own career was hard for her. And I think that she just didn't want us specifically to do music. Like, I very early on asked for music lessons and wanted to play piano. And I think her and my father both were a bit afraid of us doing music. So I think in a way, film was a little more like, oh, that's a little less scary.

[Lauren Everts]

How crazy would it be for her to see this book, though, that stood on its own two legs? Nothing to do really with Elvis. It's you and her.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah. I think she would have been really like blown away by it because she was actually incredibly insecure and like, didn't really feel deserving. Like she felt it was interesting because she was extremely strong and strong willed and tough, but also really fragile and deeply insecure. So I think that she would be truly shocked that the book was a bestseller, that she, you know, that her story mattered, that people were interested in her.

[Lauren Everts]

How did that affect you when she was insecure when you were little?

[Riley Keough]

That's such a good question.

[Lauren Everts]

My own daughter.

[Riley Keough]

That's such a good question. I felt sad for her. I don't think it made me insecure. I think I felt a sadness for her. But it was crazy because she was really insecure about her physical appearance and she was so unbelievably beautiful. Like, one of my first memories of her was her putting on her lip liner in the mirror. And I just remember thinking she was 28 at the time. And I remember thinking that she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Like she was her whole life, so stunning. But in that particular era, to me, she was just beyond beautiful. And she was just never saw a photo of herself she thought was pretty. I think I just felt sad.

[Lauren Everts]

You seem so secure and confident, so it's interesting. And throughout the book you feel that too. Like, you just feel, to me, like you feel secure even when you're little, when you're talking about yourself when you're little.

[Riley Keough]

Maybe it's like. Cause I felt really loved, you know. I don't know. I do feel secure. Yeah, of course I have. Like, I'm a human and like, I feel insecure about many things. But I would say for the most part there is truth in that. And I think that maybe I was raised by parents who were like, unconditionally loving, you know.

[Lauren Everts]

And what's so cool too, is about how your dad and your mom were able to maintain this beautiful friendship throughout. I mean, I've. I've barely heard that in my interviewing everyone. I've never heard that.

[Riley Keough]

I know, it's. It's really impressive. And I think that, like, that was also really dictated, like, the way I approach relationships in my life. And I would like, my. My parents basically got divorced and when I was 6 and then on and off lived together. And then until she died, basically he was there by. With her in the house. And I think they just tried to, like they were very platonic. They didn't. I asked her at dinner like a few years ago when the last time they hooked up was, and she was like, it wasn't. You know, it was in like 19, I don't know, 98 or something like that.

[Michael Bostic]

They mostly just like drifted into friendship.

[Riley Keough]

They just drifted into friendship. And they were awful married, I think, but they were great as friends. And he would live in the back house when she had different husbands and boyfriends. And I think it was uncomfortable for a lot of. He was fine. I think some of the boyfriends had a hard time, but he was fine and we were fine. I mean, we were, you know, really lucky, I think.

[Lauren Everts]

And is you. Are you still, like, have a great relationship with your dad today? Is he so proud of the book?

[Riley Keough]

He's. I think he has a. He's. He also grew up in a time where like our family story felt so Protected. Like, it was like growing up, it was like, never put your name on anything. Don't put your address anywhere, don't talk about anything. Like, it was very secretive. So I think he still has a lot of that. Like, oh, it's like, very unnatural to, like, share so much.

[Michael Bostic]

And I mean, outside of the obvious reasons for safety and stuff, like, why did the family feel the need to be like that?

[Riley Keough]

I don't know. We were just raised that way. I guess it was safety mostly.

[Michael Bostic]

That makes sense.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah. Safety. And probably just again, I think celebrity at that time was much more private in a lot of cases where now it's everyone's just shares kind of.

[Lauren Everts]

Did you also think that, like, everyone was so entitled to every single little last thing that Elvis did, that his daughter was probably like this, I'm gonna go the other way.

[Riley Keough]

Also, the stakes were higher, right? Like, you leave the house and you go to the grocery store and the photo's like 50 grand or something, you know?

[Michael Bostic]

Did you ever, as a child, do you. Was it challenging to become friends with other kids? Like, did you have instances where people are like, oh, this person's not here for the right reasons? You had to like, kind of watch out for that.

[Riley Keough]

Definitely. But I always could perceive it, you know, but there was a lot of like, is your mom home? Can we come over? Like, from the kids. From the kids. From the kids. I mean, which would be from the parents? Cause how would they know, you know? Oh, my gosh. But there was a lot of like, can we see your house? Do you have a big house? Like that kind of stuff. And then as I got older, just like ridiculous questions about, you know. But those kids were always very transparent.

[Lauren Everts]

I feel like you get a nose for it too.

[Riley Keough]

You kind of. You do, yeah.

[Lauren Everts]

You're like, eh, next.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah, exactly.

[Michael Bostic]

Some kid and their dad show up in Elvis outfits. It's a dead giveaway.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah, right.

[Lauren Everts]

With what happened with your brother, you seemed like you had the most amazing relationship with him. My mom committed suicide. And so.

[Riley Keough]

Oh, my God. I didn't know that.

[Lauren Everts]

Truly. I would not wish it on anyone. It's really.

[Riley Keough]

Wow.

[Lauren Everts]

It's really obviously devastating for the person to go through, but it's really hard in the aftermath. How are. How have you dealt with that and how did you talk about that? You seem like you're such good friends with your brother.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah, well, as you know, it's like the most fucked up experience.

[Lauren Everts]

It really is.

[Riley Keough]

And I don't know, I'm only a few years out, but if it's something you ever can shake because it's so intense.

[Michael Bostic]

We had a grief. Not a counselor, but what do you call him? Expert, specialist on the show, literally yesterday.

[Riley Keough]

Oh, wow.

[Michael Bostic]

And he was basically saying it's like, it never leaves. You never shake it. It's just. You learn to live.

[Riley Keough]

You learn to live with it. So you learn to live with the. The pain and the trauma and the fear and the anxiety and all of the things that accompany grief. Because I think it's like, grief is so big and changes all the time. And I think that that's something I realized. When I think that I have a handle on it, it shifts. And the next year, it's a totally different experience. But I just try and stay present in, like, the uncomfortable moments, really, is all I. When it happened, I kind of had this, like, feeling that if I wasn't extremely present through the pain of the grief, that I wasn't gonna make it through it. So I felt like I consciously was trying to feel everything. I think. I don't know what that did, but that was my method.

[Lauren Everts]

It's overwhelming. I think the suicide is so overwhelming because you start rewinding the tape of, like, you know, the last time you talked to them, could you have said something? And then the last month that you were with them, could you. Did you see a sign?

[Riley Keough]

Yeah.

[Lauren Everts]

And then you're like, well, why? Why? Like, why? And then you start thinking about. For me, I start thinking about, like, years later or years before, two years before, like, was there something there that was weird? You start putting it together, and it's kind of like a mind fuck.

[Riley Keough]

It is a mind fuck.

[Lauren Everts]

Yeah.

[Riley Keough]

In your situation, was it something that was totally shocking, or was it from.

[Lauren Everts]

Your perspective, now that I'm an adult. Not at all. Right now, you know how you have, like, the perspective. You can see how that could have happened. Yeah, I can. I actually. This is really weird. I've never said this to anyone but Michael. I actually understand it.

[Riley Keough]

Okay.

[Lauren Everts]

This is a long time ago, though, so I can. I actually understand it, and I feel empathy for it. And what you said about your mom, about how you said she was insecure, that you weren't insecure, you felt sorry for her.

[Riley Keough]

Empathy. Yeah, that's.

[Lauren Everts]

That's how I feel. I will tell you that when I had a daughter, it. It brought it back up, like.

[Riley Keough]

Yes.

[Lauren Everts]

To the surface, yes. And I think, like, you just. The same with you, it never. Grief sort of never ends. And, like, for instance, if you were to have a little boy and you have your daughter. And you see that relationship. It's kind of brings stuff up that you think is shoved out 100%.

[Riley Keough]

And like, I also had a daughter, and my mom passed away when she was five months old. And so I have spent a lot of her life in grief so far. And it brings up a lot of, like, fear and, you know, like, irrational fear and going, oh, God, am I gonna. Is this gonna happen? You know, I think the fear of lose, like, the loss of connection between a child and a parent is, like, so terrifying.

[Lauren Everts]

Yeah.

[Riley Keough]

That it does bring up, like, am I gonna end up like, that. Is this gonna happen to, like, somewhere, you know? Yeah. It's definitely been an interesting time, parenting.

[Lauren Everts]

Cause it's like, like you said, everything is a reflection. It's like, especially with what you've been through with Double. I mean, I can't even imagine. It's like, hitting you from both ends. And then you also have to show up as a parent, but then you're looking at yourself as the mother. It's a mind fuck.

[Riley Keough]

Totally. It's totally been a mind fuck. And I think it's funny. Cause a lot of the interviews I do, everyone kind of is like, well, do you feel, like, so proud of yourself for breaking the generational trauma? Like, you feel like putting me or like, giving me this responsibility that I've, you know, that I. It's a weird question. A weird question. And also, people keep saying, like, how did you break your family's curse? Or something? And I'm like, that's so intense. But also, I'm like, I definitely am a human and having, like, very human experiences of grief and sadness and. And difficult emotions. And I definitely don't feel like I've, like, done anything special. I just wasn't given this. I know. I know people, they're trying.

[Lauren Everts]

I think that with suicide specifically, and can you imagine so long ago for. This was so long, no one wanted to even touch a word.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah.

[Lauren Everts]

It was like someone told me to lie and say, my mom died of brain cancer.

[Riley Keough]

It's crazy.

[Lauren Everts]

People did not want to touch that word. So I think even now, they don't know what to say to you. And so what they do is to overcompensate is they'll put you on a pedestal as you're the one.

[Riley Keough]

They're like, wow, you're alive.

[Michael Bostic]

We just did. I mean, this is obviously timely, but we just did this episode with him yesterday, and he was saying just this. He's like, people just don't know how to behave or what to say or how to say it or how to respond or even how to have.

[Riley Keough]

Totally.

[Michael Bostic]

We're just. We talk about so many things as a people, but, like, people are so uncomfortable talking about death.

[Riley Keough]

Death. It's crazy.

[Michael Bostic]

And also, like, you know, things that are considered, especially suicides. Like, we just, like, we're so uncomfortable with it.

[Riley Keough]

It's so uncomfortable. And I'm like, hate to break it to you. Like, you're gonna have to confront it at some point. You know, not that it has to be such a violent experience, but, like, I think also it's. I was saying to someone recently, like, it's viewed as, like, a failure, too. Like, and people are constantly like, I'm so sorry, and of course it's tragic, but, like, everyone's gonna die. And so I think that the sort of, like, my feelings around death have changed so drastically in the last few years. Losing two family members. And I just feel like the conversation around dying, like, first of all, it doesn't happen. But also, I actually went to. I found it so isolating what you're saying, how nobody really knew what to say, and it was really uncomfortable for everybody else. And I'm like, yeah, of course it's uncomfortable for you, but it's also extremely uncomfortable for me. And not being able to talk about it is, you know, isn't great. So I went and I had to, like, find people. I had to find podcasts and things that were, you know, that made me feel a little bit less alone in that experience. And through that, I found out that there's something called a death doula, which is basically like a birth doula, but for, you know, people who are dying. And so I went and, like, trained to become a death doula. And so I was like, how can I, like, help people be less uncomfortable talking about. You know?

[Lauren Everts]

That's amazing. I've never heard of that.

[Michael Bostic]

Well, it's just like death duel. Again. Like, we were just talking. This is a universal thing that everybody is going to experience at some point, whether it's to a loved one or to a friend or to your. Obviously to yourself.

[Lauren Everts]

Like, nobody's escaping that specifically with suicide or drug addiction. Death.

[Michael Bostic]

Sorry, I wasn't saying suicide or.

[Lauren Everts]

No, I know. No, no, no.

[Riley Keough]

I'm just saying we kind of went, like, totally.

[Lauren Everts]

You just don't even know what to say.

[Riley Keough]

I think that suicide's really specific because people are really afraid of it, and it feels really violent. And, like, I don't know, people just are really, really, really scared. There's A taboo.

[Lauren Everts]

Didn't he say yesterday?

[Riley Keough]

Were you with David Kessler yesterday? He's my grief therapist.

[Michael Bostic]

Oh, my God.

[Lauren Everts]

Oh, my God.

[Riley Keough]

That's amazing.

[Michael Bostic]

That's who I went yesterday.

[Lauren Everts]

Yeah.

[Riley Keough]

Awesome.

[Lauren Everts]

He's amazing.

[Riley Keough]

So I found him. I found him, and he was the only person I could find. And I called him and I was like, can you please come help my family?

[Lauren Everts]

And he. I bet he was.

[Riley Keough]

He drove over from wherever he lives, and he was like, I can be there tomorrow. Like, I was like, please mop us up.

[Michael Bostic]

You know what's so crazy? So.

[Lauren Everts]

And he really helped.

[Riley Keough]

He really helped.

[Michael Bostic]

So we meet like that, and we do a lot of these shows, obviously, and you meet some people like that, and you're like, that is like a good person. Yeah, like, just like a good person.

[Riley Keough]

The most amazing thing was. So I found him because I searched in podcasts. Like, what did I search? Grief. Like, what did. I don't know. I don't know what I searched, but his name came up and I showed it to my husband, and I was like, find him. Like, I don't know how. Cause we were. This was days after.

[Michael Bostic]

Is your husband like, Dog the Bounty Hunter?

[Riley Keough]

Yeah, literally. And we were in such a state of shock. This was right after my brother passed. I literally couldn't lift my body off the. Like, I would just lay on the ground in the summer, and I couldn't get out of bed, and my parents were just, like, destroyed. And so he reached him, and I was so surprised that he was so responsive. He wrote back and, like, few hours, and then he was like, I'll come over. And so he came over and he did his grief therapy and talked to us. And when he left, I was like, how do I pay you? And he was like, I don't charge.

[Michael Bostic]

That's what I'm saying, though. I'm telling you.

[Riley Keough]

I was like, what?

[Michael Bostic]

He came in yesterday. We spent a lot of time with him on and off camera. And like, you just. Some people you meet are like, that. Like, person is a certain people like that.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah.

[Lauren Everts]

The book that helped me with my mom's death the most was yous Can Heal youl Life by Louise Hayden.

[Riley Keough]

Oh, wow.

[Lauren Everts]

I'm talking to him yesterday and I'm like, your energy reminds me of Louise Hay. She's dead now.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah.

[Lauren Everts]

He's like, Lauren, I wrote a book with her.

[Riley Keough]

That's amazing.

[Lauren Everts]

He ran down to his car. I have read every single book by this woman. For some reason, the one that he wrote has never been served to me.

[Riley Keough]

Wow.

[Lauren Everts]

He brought me the book. It's called you'd Can Heal youl Heart, and it's all about death.

[Riley Keough]

Wow.

[Lauren Everts]

So now I have to read that one. Those are my two books that I would recommend for anyone dealing with grief. The book, you Can Heal youl Life is amazing, but he does have that energy of Louise Hay. It's a really pure energy. And the fact that he deals with grief on a day to day basis and helps so many people is really incredible.

[Michael Bostic]

Yeah. And your mother was still alive when your brother passed?

[Riley Keough]

Yeah, my mother and David were very close. She kind of came over all the time and did like, they would do grief groups together for other parents. And she wanted to do a podcast with him. Like, they were very close and he helped her immensely.

[Lauren Everts]

Wait, did you realize that that was the guy when you found him on the podcast for grief, the guy that your mom did stuff with?

[Riley Keough]

No, I found him. I found him.

[Lauren Everts]

Oh, you found him. And then your mother connected with him.

[Riley Keough]

And then my mother connected with him.

[Lauren Everts]

Got it.

[Riley Keough]

Got it. And he just was at our. He basically was at our house every day for a few months and really helped my family through, like the worst part of the grief.

[Michael Bostic]

And so what was your relationship like with your mother when all that was going on? Were you.

[Riley Keough]

We were all living together in her house. Me, my dad, my mom, my sisters, and some of my friends would stay over. And it was during COVID so it was really isolating.

[Michael Bostic]

What an uplifting time.

[Riley Keough]

I know, it was pretty gnarly. And the thing is, is that he would come over, but really all he would do, not all he would do was talk to us about my brother and be there and sort of just witness the grief. And so it's not like he was doing some magic spell, you know, you.

[Lauren Everts]

Want to tell all the friends. That's what you really need. Exactly.

[Riley Keough]

Just be present in the other person's pain, you know? But he was remarkably helpful and is a truly wonderful person.

[Lauren Everts]

You say in your book, you said that when that happened with your brother, one of your immediate thoughts was about your mom. You thought like, you knew. How did you know that?

[Riley Keough]

I think that she and him had a really special relationship. So there was that only son.

[Michael Bostic]

Only son.

[Lauren Everts]

She has two twin sisters. Two little sisters.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah, only son. And he was like her favorite, you know, to be, you know, straightforward. Not out of me and out of me and him.

[Lauren Everts]

Well, probably was like. Reminded her of her dad, I'm sure.

[Riley Keough]

You know, and they looked really similar.

[Lauren Everts]

Yeah, they did.

[Riley Keough]

He looked a lot like her father and they had a really incredible bond. And she also like wouldn't watch movies where parents lost children. Like couldn't handle like even conceptualizing a parent losing a child. And she, it was like her worst nightmare. She would talk about it. She had a friend, friends who lost children. And she was like, I wouldn't make it. I would not make it. I would not.

[Michael Bostic]

I don't think I would make it.

[Riley Keough]

Either, you know, and she would say it all the time. So I kind of just knew, I knew that she wouldn't make it.

[Lauren Everts]

So how did you show up for your mom then? Like, how were you even strong enough to show up for your mother knowing that and also just losing your brother?

[Riley Keough]

So the amazing thing that happened or the unexpected thing that happened actually was when my brother died, I was like, we were all grieving differently of course, but I needed help from them and I was really not doing well. And so our dynamic changed a bit. Like my parents kind of were being the sort of responsible ones handling the funeral service and all of that. And I was like, I can't get out of bed. And so I was in a different role than I normally was, which was not what I would have anticipated. But they were actually taking care of me through that because it was really hard on me.

[Lauren Everts]

But that was probably really nice.

[Riley Keough]

It was, it was. And so I think that yeah, they both kind of stepped up, you know, in this beautiful way together as like a non married couple. And you know, obviously they were devastated, but I think in that moment they were taking care of me more than I was taking care of care of them.

[Lauren Everts]

Such a cute gift that my mother in law got me. She got me this like last Christmas and I think it's so efficient and amazing. So you know how when you have a frame but then you have a lot of other family members and they come over friends, and they don't see their picture, they don't see themselves on the wall. Well, now you can get everyone on the wall thanks to aura frames. So this is a digital photo frame. Aura makes it effortless to upload unlimited photos and videos directly from your phone. So what my mother in law does with all of us is she gifted this frame to everyone in the family. So we all upload images and they circulate throughout the family so I can see what's going on with my nieces and nephews or my kids grandparents and then I can also pepper in our family. And so when anyone comes over, everyone has a picture of themselves. It's amazing. It's in my guest room. I also have one downstairs in the family room. My kids absolutely love it. It's white, it's chic. You can personalize it and preload it, which is cool. So if you wanted to give a gift of a bunch of photos to a friend or family, this is a really special way to do it. How I would do this and how I think I will do this for the holidays is like I'll gift this to my dad and I'll upload a bunch of different fun photos that we've taken throughout the years. And then I'll also do ones from when I was little so he can like have his whole memory bank right on an Aura Frame Save on the perfect gift by visiting auraframes.com to get $35 off Aura's best selling a Carver matte frame by using Promo Code Skinny at checkout. That's a U R A frames.com promo code skinny. This specific deal is exclusive to listeners, so get yours now in time for the holidays. Terms and conditions apply.

[Michael Bostic]

With the holidays just around the corner, it's time to start thinking about those special moments. Gathering around the table with the ones you love, sharing meals and making memories that last a lifetime. And this year, Good Ranchers is here to make that feast even more special. With Good Ranchers, you can skip the chaos of the grocery store and the last minute panic over finding the perfect food for your holiday meal. Because when you choose Good Ranchers, you're getting America's best meat delivered right to your door so you can sit back, relax and truly enjoy the Christmas season. And with our exclusive Code Skinny, you'll get to pick a free gift that is included in every box for a year plus 25 off. Treat yourself to the convenience and quality of American meat delivered. Also, if you want to know one of the best gifts to give this holiday season, nobody has ever turned down a steak. This year, give something that's a cut above the rest. With goodranchers.com they have an all new selection of luxury gift boxes. From burgers and ribeyes to surf and turf and even a gift box full of tender fillets. Good Ranchers has a gift box for everyone on your list. Send them a box of meat. What we love about Good Ranchers is there are no antibiotics, hormones or seed oils. Because it's local, you can trust the American process. It's steakhouse quality, the meat truly tastes better and you won't want to go back. And of course it saves you time and money. All the cuts are pre Trimmed, which makes meal prep so easy. We absolutely love this, so check them out. Subscribe to any good rancher's box and use our special Code Skinny to get a free gift of chicken breasts, ground beef, bacon or salmon for a year, plus free express shipping. Again, head to goodranchers.com and use our Code Skinny.

[Lauren Everts]

When I make a bed, I like different textures. I don't like all the same texture, so I'll mix in like a waffle sheet, linen, cotton. I like to have different fabrics and feels. That's really important to me and I think it makes it feel really luxurious. So there is a sheet that I've talked about on my Instagram story that's a waffle sheet. It's available at Bloomingdale's. It's by Brooklinen. You guys have heard me talk about Brooklinen before, and basically Brooklinen is known for offering luxurious, hotel quality sheets at an accessible price, which is really nice. So I can switch it out and play with it. Everything's minimalistic, it's modern design. It fits seamlessly into your home. But most importantly, you can, like, experience with different textures. They have like a luxe core sheet set that is 480 thread count and that's going to give you a soft, buttery feel. The one that I have is the white waffle sheet. They also have beautiful, super plush bath towels. All of these make incredible gifts and you're getting the gift of luxury. Who doesn't like that? The brand has over 80,000 five star reviews, which is incredible. Right now, when you shop Brooklinen at Bloomingdale's online, you can use code skinny20, which is amazing. For 20% off, that's code skinny20 for all show listeners. To get 20% off your purchase, go stock Brooklinen at Bloomingdale's Online. How has your husband supported you? It seems like you have a real solid relationship with him.

[Riley Keough]

We do. He's like the most solid person ever and very, like, stable emotionally.

[Lauren Everts]

He's amazing for you.

[Riley Keough]

Yes. And he feels sort of like an angel in a way that I was kind of given to help me through all of this stuff.

[Michael Bostic]

Better talk about me like I'm an.

[Riley Keough]

So I don't know. I just feel very grateful. Like he's the kind of person, like, I can get anxious or catastrophize things. He's very, like, very calm and stable. So it's been really nice to have that.

[Lauren Everts]

Did you hear that?

[Michael Bostic]

You call me an angel?

[Lauren Everts]

No, it's defense. And how has it been being A mother balancing everything. You're balancing the book. How do you juggle all these balls and do it effectively? A lot of work.

[Riley Keough]

It's a lot of work. It's a lot of work. And I do work a lot, you know, like, I like working so I'm really busy. I work more than my husband. He has been amazing and that he's not a stay at home dad. He works, but he's like, he travels everywhere with me. So I, you know, so nice. So yeah, so he's kind of holds it down a bit and lets. Allows me to work, which is amazing. And we, I don't know, we just make it work. It's really hard.

[Michael Bostic]

So at this point, do you like writing more? Do you like acting more? Do you like. What do you like? I mean, now that you've done.

[Lauren Everts]

I feel like she's an octopus.

[Michael Bostic]

Well, you've had success obviously as an author and as writer. Like, what do you find your kind of like sweet spot now or is it just kind of.

[Riley Keough]

They're just different. Like I love performing as an actor a lot. I love writing. It's a very like isolated experience. Whereas acting is like very, you know, more social, I guess.

[Michael Bostic]

I guess you're doing with the team.

[Riley Keough]

You're like, you're with around people. And directing is also very fun. I really enjoy all of those things. Writing a book was really different and hard. I don't know if that's something I would, you know, do again.

[Lauren Everts]

Only a psycho.

[Michael Bostic]

Why did you do it? Like, what was the. Like in the beginning when you.

[Lauren Everts]

It's like she had to close the.

[Riley Keough]

Gap for her because my mom, okay, she literally started writing a book, okay. And she. In the middle of that, my brother died. And she was like, I don't want to write this book anymore. I don't care about this book. I only care about writing about grief and your brother. And I was like, well, you have to write this book because you're in the middle of it, so it needs to be finished.

[Michael Bostic]

And had you read any of it or.

[Riley Keough]

I hadn't. I had read like I'd read like the Proposal and like a few things, but not really. I was kind of actually staying out of, out of it. And then she, in December, like a month before she died, came to me and with. She called me with her manager and she was like, I don't want to write this book. I know I have to finish it. I don't want to talk about myself. Like, I think she was feeling very like, why am I writing A book about myself. And I kind of was like, I think the problem is you are expecting this to feel like. Like, a salacious celebrity. Like, you're expecting this to be like, another, like, Star magazine kind of a thing. And I was like, and it needs to be something really elegant and beautiful about your life. And she was like, well, can you do it? And I was like, sure, yeah. I'll help you for sure. And then she died. And so I felt like I had to. Yeah, that makes sense.

[Lauren Everts]

And when you read it, like, there's different fonts.

[Michael Bostic]

So, like, you can, like, see her writing.

[Lauren Everts]

You can see who's writing and who's.

[Riley Keough]

And actually, the audiobook's really cool. Cause you can hear, Julia Roberts is my mom, and then I'm me. And then you Also, there's intros to each chapter. That is my mom.

[Michael Bostic]

Why did Julia Roberts do it? Just, like, did you.

[Riley Keough]

I don't know. I just asked her, and she said yes.

[Michael Bostic]

Do you have a relationship with. No, you didn't?

[Riley Keough]

I didn't. I just sent it to her, and she, like, responded to the book, and she said yes. But she was the only person, like, they published.

[Michael Bostic]

Not that she's not amazing. I was just like, oh, is this, like, someone that you were like, no.

[Riley Keough]

I never met her in my life. She just. There was a list they sent of actors who could read my mom's part. And she was the only person that I felt had this sort of strength in her voice that felt right to me. And so she was the first person we asked. And. And she said she would do it. And I was just, like, totally blown away.

[Lauren Everts]

What has surprised you the most after this came out and it's become such a huge hit. What are some things that have surprised you about it?

[Riley Keough]

Well, I mean, it surprised me that it was, like, a bestseller. Cause I wasn't really stuck about it.

[Michael Bostic]

You didn't think it was gonna.

[Riley Keough]

I like to be like, I don't know. I was trying to be cautiously optimistic, but I didn't know.

[Michael Bostic]

See, that's my problem, because every time I release one of these, I'm like, this is gonna. Gonna be a huge hit. And then when it's not the opposite, I'm like, this is gonna be the one.

[Riley Keough]

But I think there's something to that. I think that's.

[Michael Bostic]

Every time I'm like.

[Riley Keough]

I think that the positivity, like, holistically is probably better. It's a lot, though.

[Lauren Everts]

Like, when we're out to dinner and he's looking at the mirror behind Me instead of me.

[Riley Keough]

It's a lot.

[Michael Bostic]

I gotta go through life constantly disappointed as opposed to pleasantly surprised.

[Riley Keough]

I think that's my method is I'm like always undersell. So it's surprised in my mind that.

[Lauren Everts]

It was a bestseller, kind of.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah, I did. And I think also the response that people had, the very human response people had. Because I think a lot of the time my family has been interacted with in a way that feels not very human. And I think that how much people were relating surprised me.

[Michael Bostic]

Are there things that irk you or bother you that people say about you and your family to this day, that they're just like, oh, that's just like so off base.

[Riley Keough]

Oh, that's a good question. I think that it's just not really. Because I kind of grew up hearing all kinds of things all the time and most of it was totally off base. So it just kind of felt silly. But recently, I think the idea with this book that I keep getting asked, like I said about a curse, like a family curse or something, and I just find that so annoying because I'm like, it's. It's like very human experiences. Like everyone I know has somebody who's like, suffered from addiction or lost a parent or lost a sibling or.

[Michael Bostic]

Well, this is, this is like what I, you know, to observe all this. Like we were saying the other day, if. If you were just anybody else with the. With different grandparents or different parents, you'd.

[Riley Keough]

Be like, that's a person who has.

[Michael Bostic]

Yeah. Like I always give you an example. Yesterday we had somebody that's got a barrier, well known, prominent platform, and they talked about like how they sleep with their children. And it was like somebody machine gun firing publications like, oh my God, this. And I'm like, if anybody else in the world said they slept with their kid.

[Riley Keough]

Right. No one would think about it because.

[Michael Bostic]

It was this person. It was like literally like news article after news article. I'm like, does anyone really give a shit?

[Riley Keough]

Yeah, exactly.

[Michael Bostic]

Commenting on it, their opinion?

[Riley Keough]

I'm like, yeah.

[Michael Bostic]

Oh my God.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah. Yeah. So I think that that like the dehumanizing, I guess a little bit where it's can bother me sometimes. You know what? I also don't care.

[Lauren Everts]

Yeah. It's because it's like exposure therapy. You've put yourself out there so many times. It doesn't. It's like, I'm good. I've done it so many times. I'm over it.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah. I think the truth is there's not much that bothers me in Terms of press stuff. I don't really. It doesn't really affect me.

[Michael Bostic]

Well, the press people are gonna hate me saying this, but, like, it's not really even relevant anymore. Like, everyone. When people say, like, oh, look at it, you got featured in this. Or I'm like, nobody cared.

[Riley Keough]

Also in this, it's probably not gonna.

[Michael Bostic]

Get me any more stories. Nobody's gonna write about the fucking podcast. But every time I see, I'm like, great. Maybe that'll, like, give me a boost. I would make the argument that a lot of these old publications, they need these kind of things more than we need them. I mean, it's not like the old days when you pick up an Us Weekly or People and nobody's paying attention anymore.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah, I know. And then that's the other thing is things just sort of come and go, and I just, like, don't care.

[Michael Bostic]

You need press. And I'm like, why? Like, well, because you need it. And I go, why? Like, because it's important to have them talk about. But I'm like, nobody is paying attention to them.

[Riley Keough]

But with. I will say I pay attention to.

[Michael Bostic]

Podcasts, but that's different. That's what I'm saying.

[Lauren Everts]

Oh, you're gonna put yourself in a different category.

[Michael Bostic]

Of course. I always do. But the public. The point is, is, like, I think that kind of, like, salacious, cliquey. Let's pick apart. Like, I think. I think people don't care anymore.

[Riley Keough]

No, no.

[Michael Bostic]

Like, everybody's got flaws. Everybody's got a human condition.

[Riley Keough]

Totally. Which is great.

[Michael Bostic]

I think it's the downfall of people that are hanging. People want substance now. They want to know who the person is, what they have to say.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah.

[Lauren Everts]

It makes sense, though, why everyone's DMing you in a humanized, human way. It's like the book did that. It made your story approachable.

[Riley Keough]

I think that's. To rephrase it, what I'm most proud of is that it's. There's this sort of mythology of my family. And I think that the DMs. I'll read my DMs, and people will say things during the book tour. And it's very like, I also experienced grief, or I also experienced addiction. It's not like, oh, Elvis and Lisa or whatever, you know, it was very human stuff. And I think my mom, like, that's why she wanted to write a book, really, is about grief, about grief and addiction and her struggles and. And just her life as a human being and wanting to connect with other people.

[Michael Bostic]

Well, I think what people would, you know, they see someone who has that kind of platform and comes from the background she comes from, and they're like, oh, these people are human. And they struggle with the same human things that we all. And I think it's relatable, right where it's like, oh, everybody has problems. Everybody has struggles.

[Lauren Everts]

But what's cool about all of it is that it sounds like your mom wanted to focus on grief, and the book did that. It didn't make it. Like you said about Elvis, Lisa Marie. It's like the book helped people. That's crazy. That's so full circle.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah.

[Lauren Everts]

Okay, everyone needs to go check out the book. What are you working on? Where can they get the book? Tell us all the things. I'm sure you already follow Riley. I love following her.

[Riley Keough]

You can get the book anywhere you get books. The audiobook. And I'm not just saying this is really beautiful. I think that on. It's on audible, and I really recommend it just because you get. It's a totally different experience. I recommend both, but I really enjoyed the audiobook. What am I working on? Like, you know, I'm just finished filming a movie. I'm still an actor.

[Michael Bostic]

When you go and you do something that heavy, do you have to, like, go into something a little lighter after, or can you keep going on the heavy subjects?

[Riley Keough]

Well, I've never done anything like. I've done a lot of heavy work as an actor, but never anything that, like, real. Like, when I'm.

[Michael Bostic]

What do you mean?

[Riley Keough]

Like, my real life. Like, when I'm. When I'm.

[Lauren Everts]

She's acting.

[Riley Keough]

When I'm acting, I don't, like, recall my own trauma. Like, I don't really use my own stuff. So this was a very different experience. Like, and it was very intense and very heavy. And I. So, honestly, I was, like, very happy for it to be over, and I was happy to be done writing it, but it was really cathartic because I think that there's really something in, like, sharing your story and just being really honest and open that helps you process what happened.

[Lauren Everts]

It's cathartic and amazing. Is there anything I forgot to ask you this that you wish you included in the book, that you didn't.

[Riley Keough]

Anything I wish I included in the book anything.

[Lauren Everts]

Like, is there anything that you were like, I wish I included that, or do you feel like you got it all out?

[Riley Keough]

I think there was a lot of things that felt like my experience that I didn't put in the book because it was my mom's book. And so there were moments where I was like, I want to really share this thing, but that's for another time and place. And maybe for my memoir when I'm 80.

[Lauren Everts]

Maybe you and your daughter.

[Riley Keough]

Exactly. That's a good idea.

[Lauren Everts]

Write a memoir together.

[Riley Keough]

That's a really good idea.

[Lauren Everts]

And she can do the same thing that you guys did.

[Michael Bostic]

Don't you think it's strange when people write a memoir when they're 35 and they're still going.

[Riley Keough]

That's why I didn't write my memoir. I just focused on her.

[Michael Bostic]

Because there's some people that are like, this is my memoir. And I'm like, dude, you're 35 years old. Like, you gotta. You gotta keep going.

[Riley Keough]

I know. And that's another thing. On this press tour, people keep asking, like, when's your memoir? I'm like, hopefully not soon.

[Lauren Everts]

I feel like we gotta mix the questions up with the.

[Riley Keough]

I know.

[Michael Bostic]

Like, in my memoir, Lauren, I gotta get creative.

[Riley Keough]

I agree.

[Michael Bostic]

In my memoir, I would, like. Cause I fantasize.

[Riley Keough]

I'm like, one day, when are you gonna write a memoir?

[Michael Bostic]

That's all I'll tell you.

[Riley Keough]

So.

[Michael Bostic]

But this would be, like. We would be, like, 20% into the story. In my memoir at this point.

[Lauren Everts]

20%.

[Michael Bostic]

We'd be like, if the book was 1,000 pages, this is like. Like two page, 200. That's my hope.

[Riley Keough]

Okay.

[Michael Bostic]

So that I got, like, 800 more to go.

[Lauren Everts]

Wow.

[Michael Bostic]

And I'd be like, there was this one old time when I used to talk on this microphone to people, but it would be like, a blip on, like, the thing. Because I got a lot. I got a lot of shit I gotta keep doing.

[Lauren Everts]

Okay. I can't wait for that chapter.

[Michael Bostic]

You can make it.

[Lauren Everts]

Maybe I'll be. I'll do the commentary.

[Riley Keough]

That would be cute.

[Lauren Everts]

Yeah. Let's see how long you make it in the memoir.

[Michael Bostic]

Like, hopefully you can get past the 20%.

[Riley Keough]

Are you in the memoir?

[Lauren Everts]

I can't get away from the memoir. I'm on every fucking page since I was born. You guys have been together for a long time.

[Michael Bostic]

I was thinking about this as you were talking. Let's just make it about me for a second, okay?

[Riley Keough]

Please. I'm enjoying this.

[Michael Bostic]

I was thinking about this as you were talking. I was like, well, you got to listen to your mother talking in these tapes. And then I was like, holy shit. Like, our kids could potentially, like, listen to it. All sorts of stuff.

[Riley Keough]

100% they will. Yeah.

[Michael Bostic]

That's kind of creepy.

[Riley Keough]

They will. They'll listen to every single thing. Like, if my mom had hosted a podcast, I would definitely be listening to every single thing.

[Michael Bostic]

There's like 800 things.

[Riley Keough]

They can hear me say, be careful.

[Michael Bostic]

Delete all the sex ones before I go.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah. Before they're like, yeah, Able to.

[Michael Bostic]

Hopefully my son or my daughter, like, as I'm like, they can, like, help me finish my memoir too.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah.

[Michael Bostic]

If you're listening to this son in 20, it's not about your 2016, you better help me.

[Riley Keough]

But you know what? You reminded me, like, something that was so special was having all these hours of my parent telling their whole life story.

[Lauren Everts]

Amazing.

[Riley Keough]

And I'm like, everyone should do that.

[Lauren Everts]

Do you know how bad I wish I had that? You were so lucky.

[Riley Keough]

Everyone should just, like, take their parent and give them a day and be like, okay, let's start from the beginning.

[Michael Bostic]

You know what we've thought about doing?

[Lauren Everts]

It's hard to get some of them to focus.

[Michael Bostic]

I'm like, dad, you know what we've thought about doing? But I think.

[Riley Keough]

Daddy, papa, Daddy, we've.

[Michael Bostic]

Thought about doing this. And I want to do this. But anyone can do this. Because podcast equipment these days, or just even recording equipment is not that expensive. I've thought about with Lawrence, sitting each of our parents down and doing what we do, but not releasing it.

[Riley Keough]

But absolutely should.

[Michael Bostic]

And doing, like, doing. Actually conducting an interview with them about their life and going through it. You don't have to release it, but I think, like, to have it. Yeah. Everyone could do that with their friends.

[Lauren Everts]

I mean, most people like that lose a parent, have the voicemail.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah, I know.

[Lauren Everts]

The fact that you have all those tapes, I'm sure it's like. It's also. There's different dynamics to it. You also feel a lot, but it's amazing that you have that forever.

[Riley Keough]

Yeah.

[Michael Bostic]

But if you think about it, like, people can just buy equipment and sit down with their parent and, like, record and ask them things about their life. I think it's, like, a good thing to do.

[Riley Keough]

It's a great thing to do.

[Lauren Everts]

I, for some reason, feel a documentary. Do you think a documentary is gonna happen?

[Riley Keough]

I would be open to it because I'm a movie person.

[Lauren Everts]

I know.

[Riley Keough]

So, like, that's more my. I don't know, like, exciting. I mean, I love books, but I think that the idea of a documentary, like, would. Would excite me. It's not something I necessarily would want to, like, direct. Cause it's so personal. But I think that I would be open to it.

[Lauren Everts]

When I read it. I'm telling you. I was like, oh, my gosh, the.

[Michael Bostic]

Phones are gonna start ringing.

[Riley Keough]

That's for sure.

[Lauren Everts]

No, they're already ringing, Michael. She's Oprah's Book club pick. Number one national bestseller, as well as a New York Times Go by the book From Here to the Great Unknown. Riley, thank you for letting me stalk you on Instagram to come on the show. I also stalked you through other people. I was like, she needs to come on. Please, please, please. So thank you for taking the time.

[Riley Keough]

Thank you for all of the health recommendations, and I'm pretty sure I found colostrum through you, so thank you for that.

[Lauren Everts]

Which kind? From the tit or from cowboy classroom?

[Riley Keough]

Did you.

[Lauren Everts]

You post that, Armra?

[Riley Keough]

I don't know. You posted one that my daughter's been on, and she has not been sick in eight months.

[Michael Bostic]

You know, I don't get sick anymore either.

[Riley Keough]

Oh, we got to end it about you.

[Lauren Everts]

Okay. Thank you for coming on the show.

[Riley Keough]

Thank you for having me.

[Michael Bostic]

Thank you, Riley.

[Lauren Everts]

Thank you.