Restless Souls

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.