 
Faye and Jonathan Kellerman
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Partners in Crime
Kellermans support psychology graduate fellowships
By Nicole St.Pierre
Clinical psychologist and master of suspense Jonathan Kellerman spends
an August afternoon touring USC’s Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial
Library. The setting was already somewhat familiar to him.
Kellerman graduated with a Ph.D. in psychology from USC College in
1974. But during this visit, the author carefully jots down descriptive
details since the library will be a backdrop to a scene in an upcoming
crime novel.
Creator of the psychologist-sleuth Alex Delaware, Kellerman published
his first novel “When the Bough Breaks” in 1985. Since then, the
Clinical Professor of Psychology at USC College has published 19
consecutive best-selling suspense novels. “I’ve wanted to write since
the fourth grade. Getting published was quite a milestone for me,” he
says.
But milestones don’t come without work. For the first decade of his
writing career, Kellerman wrote from an old desk in his garage. After
years of rejection from magazine and publishing houses, he caught a
break in 1985 when the book “When the Bough Breaks” sold more than one
million copies and kick-started his career as a suspense novelist. Five
years later he stopped practicing psychology and devoted his career to
writing full-time. (Although Kellerman still enjoys talking with Trojan
graduate students and postdocs when they have specific questions about
psychological issues.)
His wife, best selling author Faye Kellerman, has a similar story. She
earned a B.A. in mathematics and a doctorate in dentistry at UCLA,
where she conducted research on oral dentistry. Faye's first
groundbreaking novel, “The Ritual Bath,” was published in 1986 and
introduced the characters Los Angeles cop Peter Decker and his wife
Rina Lazarus to the mystery world.
The Kellermans’ joint success has only strengthened their interest and respect for higher education.
“What I admire most about USC is that they treat people like human
beings. Not like a number. As an alumnus, you really appreciate that,”
he says.
The Kellermans recently committed $750,000 for graduate fellowships in psychology.
“I owe a great deal of my current success to the school. I could
have never become a novelist without first becoming a psychologist and
gaining the insight and life experience necessary to write a
bestseller,” says Jonathan, adding it was Faye who prompted him to
attend USC College.
“She was attending UCLA when we first met and I had just received
fellowships to numerous schools on the East Coast, but I couldn’t bear
to leave her, so I ended up, thankfully, at USC,” he says, noting that
their 31 years of marriage and four children are his proudest life
accomplishments. “The two oldest children are engaged to
wonderful people and we couldn’t be happier.”
While in graduate school at USC College, Jonathan completed his
clinical work at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
(CHLA). In 1977, he directed the first comprehensive
rehabilitation program to pediatric oncology. Specifically, it trained
physicians, psychologists, nurses and social workers to help children
who survived chemotherapy make a healthy transition back to normal
life. The program recently celebrated its 25th anniversary.
“The thing about psychology is that when psychotherapy and clinical
work are scientifically applied, they are very effective, especially
with children. And as life gets more complicated, there needs to
be more of a role for clinical psychology. But psychologists need to be
trained at a good clinical program. USC prepares students to be highly
competent in research, clinical work and teaching.”
As for his advice to aspiring writers: “If you want to write a
book, listen to the Nike commercial. Just sit down and do it.
Introspection is the worst thing you can do,” he says. “And you need to
experience life as fully as possible, and read as much good stuff as
you possibly can.”
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