Riley Keough, mom Lisa Marie Presley, and the rest of their family endured the unimaginable in 2020 when Benjamin Keough was found dead. We ultimately learned that Benjamin had died by suicide at the age of 27.
Riley opened up about what the year that has followed her brother's death has been like while speaking to the New York Times. After noting that the months since have been a time of "feeling like I was thrown into the ocean and couldn’t swim," she revealed that Benjamin's death has changed her life in more ways than one.
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Note: If you or any of your loved ones are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can always reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 1-800-273-8255. They are available 24/7 by phone or online chat.
Riley revealed that she entered a state of depression following Benjamin's death, and that state persisted for months: "The first four or five months, I couldn’t get out of bed. I was totally debilitated. I couldn’t talk for two weeks."
She also says that a year later, she still can't quite wrap her head around what happened: "It’s very complicated for our minds to put that somewhere because it’s so outrageous. If I’m going through a breakup, I know what to do with that and where to file it in my mind, but suicide of your brother? Where do you put that? How does that integrate? It just doesn’t."
Eventually, Riley began to open back up to the world. She now works as a death doula; instead of helping others as they bring life into this world, death doulas help patients as they prepare to leave it.
It turns out that working in service of others has been the most profound act.
"That’s really what’s helped me, being able to put myself in a position of service," Riley explained. "If I can help other people, maybe I can find some way to help myself."
Like a birth doula, a death doula offers a powerful service to people and their loved ones when they need it the most. Janie Rakow, the president of the International End of Life Doula Association (INELDA), explained what death doulas really do to USA Today.
Janie says that the process is about more than the person who is dying: "We journey with the person who’s dying and their family to help them navigate through the whole end-of-life process."
Death doulas are typically hired by a family when a loved one has received a diagnosis that is terminal. The doula will spend time with the person who is dying, and will also help their loved ones come to terms with what that means.
Getting certified as a death doula with INELDA isn't incredibly complex. Certification isn't even required, as the entire industry has no regulation, but most doulas are certified after working for 36 hours in the role. The organization was founded in 2016.
