Restless Souls: The Sharon Tate Family's Account of Stardom, the Manson Murders, and a Crusade for Justice [Hardcover]

Alisa Statman (Author), Brie Tate (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 21, 2012

Restless Souls is the true, bone-chilling chronicle of the Manson Family murders and its aftermath, from the point of view of the victims’ families.

When actress Sharon Tate and four others were brutally murdered by Charles Manson and his followers, the world was shocked. More than forty years later, the gruesome barbarity of the “Manson Family” still fascinates and horrifies.

This true crime memoir by Alisa Statman, a 20-year Tate family friend, and Brie Tate, the daughter of Sharon Tate’s niece, includes interviews with the Tate family, accounts from personal letters, tape recordings, home movies, and private diaries.

Complete with color photographs and personal insights, Restless Souls is the most revealing, riveting, and emotionally raw account of the gruesome slayings, the hunt and capture of the killers, and the behind-the-scenes drama of their trials, as well as a touching view of the torment that the victims families’ have endured for years after such tragedy.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The gruesome murders of the beautiful and talented actress Sharon Tate, her unborn child and four others that same night at the hands of the notorious “Manson family” rocked the nation. As one of the most horrific crimes in modern history, these atrocities, the trial and the subsequent conviction of Charles Manson and his followers caused a media sensation, spawning movies, documentaries and bestselling books, including the classic Helter Skelter. A defining moment in an era otherwise associated with radical peace, love and understanding, this incident is one that still resonates with millions today.

Yet while this crime left an indelible mark on society’s consciousness, it was, first and foremost, a shattering personal tragedy for those closest to Sharon—the loving family left to cope with the emotional devastation of her loss. Now, after nearly forty years, their story is finally revealed.

Compiled by close family friend Alisa Statman and Sharon’s niece Brie Tate, Restless Souls draws on a wealth of material including interviews with the Tates, personal letters, tape recordings, home movies, public interviews, private journals, and official documents to provide a powerful, poignant, and affecting four-decade, three-generation memoir of crime and punishment, anguish and hope, rage and love, that is both a chronicle of death and a celebration of life.

Extending beyond all previous accounts, Restless Souls is the most revealing, riveting, and emotionally raw account not just of these heinous murders, the hunt and capture of the killers and the behind-the-scenes drama of their trials, but of the torment victims families’ endure for years in the wake of such senseless violence.

Tate family members set the record straight, correcting media misinformation and delving well beyond the official storyline to provide information, much of it available for the first time. Intimate, honest, and heartfelt, Restless Souls remarkable details, including :

• the dramatic role Sharon’s father, P. J., a retired army intelligence officer, played in finding his daughter’s murderers
• the reaction P. J. had when he came face to face—alone—with Sharon’s convicted killer in a holding room during a parole hearing
• the threats and menace that extended beyond prison walls, haunting the victim’s family for generations later
• the fight Sharon’s mother, Doris, mounted to insure the rights of victims’ loved ones, particularly the right to make an ‘impact statement’ at parole hearings—a legacy that has helped keep dangerous criminals behind bars
• the battles Sharon’s sister, Patti, waged with the entertainment industry as she tirelessly worked to prevent artists from glorifying her sister’s killers in music, art, and films

Told from the Tate’s extraordinary perspective Restless Souls offers a rare glimpse at the post-trauma survival of a family and their journey to find justice and ultimately, peace—a glimpse that couldn’t be more timely as Charles Manson comes up for parole again in 2012.

About the Author

Alisa Statman is a writer and assistant director in film and television.

Brie Tate is Sharon Tate's niece, the middle daughter of Patti Tate. Witness to her family's pain over the years, she and Alisa have resolved to share the family's story.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: It Books; First Edition edition (February 21, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062008048
• ISBN-13: 978-0062008046
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.4 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #597,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A Worthy Message, Undermined April 21, 2012

By Superfluous Hen

Format:Hardcover

Sharon Tate was the most famous victim of the Manson murders and her horrific death at 8 months pregnant left her family - parents Doris and Paul (PJ), and kid sisters Debra and Patti - utterly bereft.

The book exposes the heartbreaking reality of losing a family member to murder. There's the often unjust justice system; the strain on familial relationships; and the ripple effect down generations. The stories are moving and confronting. We read about the tenacious Doris Tate facing her daughter's killer in a parole hearing; the fights to remove one killer's influence in prison and his conjugal visits; and the private writings of PJ, Doris, and Patti. More families should write books that chronicle the reality of violent crime; perhaps then the justice system will focus less on prisoner's rights and more on victim's rights.

However there is a responsibility when documenting real crime, to be both factual and sensitive out of deference to the magnitude of the crime and respect for its surviving victims.

Restless Souls is certainly marketed as a factual account of a family's tragedy. However, Alisa Statman has by her own admission taken poetic license and the reader is left unaware of when the Tate's actual words stop and Alisa's recount or imagining begins. This may not be important to the reader so long as the message is strong, but I imagine it would be very important to those whose lives were defined by the tragedy and the post-trauma it induces.

The story does not speak for the Tate family as a whole - a notable omission is the only surviving member, Sharon's sister Debra Tate. Debra released a statement on the Tate Family Legacy site, of which she is guardian, outlining her concerns with the accuracy of the book.

It is worth remembering here that Debra and Patti both lost their sister and unborn nephew to slaughter, and their parents to an abyss of grief. By Doris' own admission, she checked out mentally and didn't `come back' for 10 years, when a Manson murderer was up for parole and she was galvanised into action. No-one can blame her for her reaction to her daughter and grandson's horrific deaths, and nor can anyone understand the effect her absence had on the two young girls left behind. It's a monstrous situation that further highlights the insidious effects of senseless murder.

I would expect a professional author writing about the subject, to have an appreciation of this.

Instead, she has submitted disturbing, extremely personal and out-of-context attacks on Debra, on this very site. They were a clear breach of Amazon rules and were eventually deleted.

Additionally, Alisa Statman aligns herself with a blogger named 'Col Scott'. His blog - to which Alisa feeds Tate family information/documents and contributes comments - is pornographic, abusive, and it viciously attacks Debra Tate and others in the manner of a schoolyard bully inciting a mob. It is the last place on earth I would associate with victim's advocacy. One can only imagine how the deceased Tates would react to having their name and their memoirs besmirched by association with such a base, venomous forum - aided and abetted by Alisa Statman.

I believe that conduct such as this compromises Alisa's trusted position as a chronicler of victims' struggles with the aftermath of murder.

In short: this book's worthy message is sadly diluted by the conduct of the messenger.

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book is Haunting! February 21, 2012

By Charlie J. Trainer

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I just finished this haunting book now; as I was (rightfully) afraid to read it at night.
I highly recommend it. If you are anywhere near my age (ahem! mid fourties) you will remember many of the details of the heinous crimes committed by Charles Manson & his demented followers. But this book does a fantastic job of taking the focus off the criminals & shining a light on the victims & their families and all that they endured & continue to endure.

Authors,Alisa Statman & Brie Tate have written a exhaustively researched; impeccably documented & riveting account.
As family members they had unparalled access to photos, letters, interviews, & tape recordings making for a definitive work.

For all its harrowing detail; Statman & Tate have written what is ultimately a cautionary but hopeful tale about man's ability to transcend violence and work for justice as the unforgetable PJ & DORIS TATE (Sharon's parents) spent the rest of their lives doing.

The book is also very timely as many of the monsters who perpetrated these crimes are still alive in prison, and are constantly petitioning for parole. Hopefully one outcome of this book will be to guard against that ever happening!

28 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book February 21, 2012

By JMDostal

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The minute I began reading Restless Souls I was gripped to the core. I could not put it down!!! I felt every emotion and frustration to the point of tears. I remember being a little girl and being scared to death of these evil people who commited such a sensless, selfish, disgusting series of murders and crimes. I can't even get myself to write their names because I don't think they deserve the attention. I still cannot believe this story is a reality and that any poor family had to endure such pain and tradgity. The writing was awesome and
as I said it took me into the story and held me there untill I finished...in 2 days!!! Its a very hard story to read, but I think everyone would agree that Sharon Tate, her family and all the other victums deserve to be remembered and acknowledged.