Ruth L Hillelson

Dr. Ruth Leanna Hillelson is a surgeon, scientist, and lifelong researcher whose pursuit of knowledge ultimately led her to uncover an extraordinary chapter of her own family history.

Among the first women to attend The Johns Hopkins University as an undergraduate, she directed a National Science Foundation research grant at the age of eighteen before finishing her training at Harvard Medical School. Throughout a distinguished career in plastic and reconstructive surgery, she became internationally recognized for her innovations in breast reconstruction and aesthetic medicine. Yet perhaps her most personal investigation began far from the operating room.

In *The Right Side of Wrong*, Dr. Hillelson combines years of meticulous archival research, family records, personal interviews, and historical investigation to reconstruct the remarkable story of her family's survival during World War II. What began as a search for answers became a deeply moving journey into a world shaped by Nazi occupation, resistance efforts, narrow escapes, devastating loss, and extraordinary courage.

Through the experiences of her grandparents, mother, aunt, and uncles, she reveals the struggles and sacrifices of ordinary people confronted with extraordinary circumstances. Their story is one of resilience, moral courage, and an unwavering determination to do what was right, even at great personal risk.

Drawing upon the same discipline, analytical rigor, and commitment to evidence that defined her education at Johns Hopkins and Harvard and her career as a physician-scientist, Dr. Hillelson brings both historical depth and emotional authenticity to this powerful blend of memoir and history. *The Right Side of Wrong* stands as a tribute to a family's bravery, a testament to the endurance of the human spirit, and a reminder that history is ultimately lived one life at a time.

Dr. Hillelson serves as Chief of Plastic Surgery and Aesthetics at the Hillelson-Whipple Clinic in Richmond, Virginia, where she lives with her husband, Dr. Terry L. Whipple, their two dogs, and two horses.