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Restless Souls  By  cover art

Restless Souls

By: Alisa Statman, Brie Tate
Narrated by: Eliza Foss, Gabra Zackman, Therese Plummer
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Publisher's summary

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 best-selling 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 40 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 here 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 reveals 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.

©2012 Alisa Statman and Brie Tate (P)2012 HarperCollinsPublishers

What listeners say about Restless Souls

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A story of love and passion

What did you love best about Restless Souls?

The way the story was written and read.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Restless Souls?

When the Tate family was able to see justice done and the fact that they continued to
seek justice until they passed away. and their family is still continuing to seek it to this day

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

Colonel Tate

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The title fits perfectly

Any additional comments?

This may be the best audio book I have read yet. The story is well told and the narrators
are outstanding,

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6 people found this helpful

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Wow the things people on the outside don't know

If you could sum up Restless Souls in three words, what would they be?

Sad, Compelling, Touching

What was one of the most memorable moments of Restless Souls?

When you hear how much the survivors had to stick up for their point of views

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

Doris Tate

If you could give Restless Souls a new subtitle, what would it be?

The story of the pursuit for truth

Any additional comments?

Its amazing what you find out in a backstory. It took along time for this side of the story to come out but the facts revealed are both frightening and sad.

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Restless Souls a Compelling Tale

What did you love best about Restless Souls?

This was an infamous crime, at last we have the story from the family most impacted by this tragedy.
This family suffered the double blow of losing their daughter, and then having their daughter's reputation trashed by the press. As though the victims were somehow responsible for their fate.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

It was a personal heartfelt account about the impact of crime, and its devastating effect on a family's life, long after the crime was committed. This courageous family overcame their loss and grief to confront the very perpetrators of this crime, to ensure they would not be released back into the community. A courageous act in itself given how many members of the

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

There were various narrators on this book, each representing a member of the Tate family.
They did a marvellous job.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Finding meaning and courage in the face of tragedy.

Any additional comments?

I feel for the Tate family who today still have to attend the parole hearings of these criminals to ensure they remain in prison. Each time having to relive the nightmare of this crime.

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6 people found this helpful

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Very insightful

Would you listen to Restless Souls again? Why?

I've become obsessed with the entire Manson nightmare, I've listened to other books on the murders and I feel this one gives it more of a human side to the them...

If anyone is at all interested in the insane nightmares that took place in August of 69
this is a MUST read !!

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked Patty, I liked hearing how she became stronger and stronger throughout her life to once and for all face the animals that took her sisters life

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Have not heard others

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me happy that this family is making sure the monsters that committed these crimes are staying right where they belong,.. In Prison suffering for the rest of their worthless lives

Any additional comments?

Very good book !!

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Another telling of the Manson killings

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I know I'm going to get brutalized by other reviewers, but I really felt that PJ Tate comes across in this book like an insufferable and arrogant blowhard. And he joins the multitude of others who have claimed over the years that they "really" solved the case and put the police on Manson's trail. I'm hoping this view of him is due to the editing of his memoirs and that he was actually not this arrogant and egotistical. His narrative and character sounds like it was written by James M. Cain, and not in a good way.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Restless Souls?


Any additional comments?

This book is a must-read, of course, to anyone interested in the Manson murders. It certainly gives the Tate family's view of the victims, the crimes, and the killers. It would be nice though if more people, including the Tates, remembered that there were more victims than just Sharon and those in her home that night.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Narrators enjoy the telling of murders

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

A stand-up comedian poking fun at a great American tragedy.

Would you ever listen to anything by Alisa Statman and Brie Tate again?

Perhaps a comic book or the announcement of their firings.

How could the performance have been better?

With respectful, serious readers who gave a damn about this great American tragedy - or who could at least fake the respect to which these victims and families are entitled. How dare they have gleeful tones.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Restless Souls?

All scenes read by these "happy" narrators. I don't expect doom and gloom but let's tone down the implied giggles.

Any additional comments?

Wish I could have continued this factual book as I felt the content was very interesting and credible.
Tried to ignore the narrators as the book went along, but the glee made me complacent in "enjoying" the destruction of innocent lives and the heartbreak of their families and many friends.
Seems to me the family must have been led astray as to the choosing of the narrators. How dare the narrators "enjoy" this reading. One of this century's most horrific and sad crimes SHOULD NOT be read as though one was skipping down the yellow brick road with Dorothy.

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PICK THIS ONE

This is pretty much the most amazing book I’ve ever listened to. It captivated me right from the start, clear through the end. It is read in 4 different voices, Doris, Patti, PJ (Sharron’s Father) and Brea (Patti’s daughter).

If you have ever dug deep into things that Mason’s supporters say events surrounding the murders with the Mamma’s and Pappa’s, drugs and who was responsible for the murders this book gives you the complete context of those stories in detail making them easy to research on your own.

Plus the readers do a phenomenal job. While quoting the killers, Doris, PJ or Patti they readers voices sound so much like the real people it will give you chills. During my second and third listen, I stopped many times to cross reference the voices between videos of actual interviews posted on YouTube and the context made my blood run cold.

These authors do a fantastic job of showing what happened without being gruesome (even includes readings from Vince Bugliosi's book with opinions about it too) . They lay out the Tate’s journey of advocacy without taking credit for changes made to the justice system solely on their own, often times being very humble in not taking credit for things we know for sure they did to help good people.

Same goes for Cornel Tate’s investigation of the crime, though he did find out things and share them with the police, the authors where honest in the depiction of how the case was solved. The details of his parallel “investigation” were riveting.

The last chapter had me in tears as Brea describes feelings about Leslie Van Houten, her mother and the current stage of her pregnancy that brought Sharron, Patti, Doris and PJ back to life in a way I’ve never experienced in all movies, books, podcasts and interviews I’ve ever seen.

This book was honest and grounded, showing the depth of the real humans we’ve been reading about, their lives, loves and heartbreak. Giving such a candid look into their lives brought all involved back to life in a very honest way. If you could only pick one… pick this one.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Engaging look at the victims.

This book puts the focus back on the victims and the Tate family, instead of the murderers. The best parts of the book are by PJ Tate and his search for his daughters killers. I had no idea the amount of investigating he did with his friends.

You also learn more about the other victims, and their connection with Sharon. More than the other books I have read on the topic.

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Sharon Tate Family's Account

I liked the way that the story was primarily about the Tate family victimized by the Charles Mason family. I also enjoyed the story being told in the voices of Patti Tate (Sharon Tate's sister); her mother Doris Tate; and Patti's daughter Brie.

The story helped me to learn about what life was like for them after Sharon Tate’s murder by Charles “Tex” Watson. I was glad to learn that Doris Tate became a strong advocate for the rights of victims. She also crusaded to keep Sharon's killers in prison at all costs.

In addition, I liked what Brie Tate (Patti Tate’s daughter) said in the last chapter:

"Sorrow may seem a pitiful emotion, yet I am blessed by it. For it has left me a legacy of love, determination, and courage handed down by my mother and my grandparents before her. They taught me that we learn our greatest lessons through hardship. And through that hardship, they taught me not about fear and retribution, but about giving."

It is an interesting, moving and heartbreaking story. I would highly recommend it.

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A Different Point of View!

I have read just about every book on this case. This book gives the family's point of view. It was performed exceptionaly well, with different people reading different roles in the book. The information and details were, as expected, sad yet intriguing. A definite choice for true crime readers.

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