Title: The inner Elvis
First published: 1996
Description: Peter Whitmer delves deep into Elvis's personality in a compelling psychological investigation, exposing the private pain and agony that kept him from becoming the man and performer he might have been.

Beginning with the trauma of the loss of his twin brother, Jesse, at birth, psychologist Peter Whitmer shows how this unknown brother became a major presence that would haunt Elvis his entire life. The loss drove Elvis's mother, Gladys, to overprotect her surviving son, pushing him in ways that were at times monstrous and demeaning, yet undoubtedly turning him into the star he became.

Whitmer explores how this relationship with his mother, termed "lethal enmeshment," prompted Elvis to later place his trust entirely in Colonel Tom Parker, his business manager - even to the detriment of his career.

Whitmer demonstrates, with several never-before-seen interviews and many previously unpublished photographs, how Elvis's often strange sexuality and boundless promiscuity were derived from his early life experiences; why Elvis was attracted to the 14-year-old, 95-pound Priscilla; and why he spent years struggling to maintain a nonsexual relationship with her. He discusses Elvis's need to be surrounded by adoring men and women, and delves into his deep-rooted insecurities.

We see Elvis's strange food obsessions and their origins; his gluttony and compulsive eating rituals; his obsessive toothbrushing; and Elvis's increasingly poor bodily hygiene in later years, when he often refused to take a bath. Whitmer also details the reasons why Elvis became drug dependent, and his fascination with occult books.

The Inner Elvis is a unique and inspired look at the complicated, captivating, and vulnerable human being behind the Elvis Presley legend - one that will shock and surprise even those readers who thought they already knew everything there was to know about the King.
Subjects: Rock musicians, Biography, Presley, elvis, 1935-1977, New York Times reviewed
Places: United States
People: Elvis Presley (1935-1977)
LC classification: ML420.P96 W55 1996