The Bastard of Beverly Hills

In The Bastard of Beverly Hills, Rafael Moscatel shares the heartbreaking story of being given up for adoption by a renowned family of musicians, a decades-long odyssey to tear down the web of lies that kept him from uncovering their lurid past, and his inspiring journey back home— not to the fabled estate where he was raised but a place he could finally feel comfortable in his own skin.

This poignant and whimsical memoir begins in 1977, after an infamous lawyer buries the secret of Rafael’s origin, placing him with an eccentric, well-connected family from Beverly Hills. Worried he might find out and run away, his adopted mother convinces her friends, including television’s biggest star, Michael Landon, to help conceal the truth. But when Rafael begins to catch on to her lie, he’s discouraged from asking more questions. He bravely embarks on an impossible quest to discover what happened, only to find himself at the center of an old Hollywood scandal that was never meant to see the light of day.

An artful, empathetic, and moving account of a boy, then a man, trying to find himself, The Bastard of Beverly Hills reminds us of our spiritual strength. It is a testament to the power of hope, forgiveness, and redemption. In unmasking and facing the monsters that once haunted him, Rafael shows us it’s never too late to overcome abandonment, learn to forgive, and find the love we deserve.