Ithaca College

Sophia Terazawa '13, who majored in psychology with a minor in aging studies, has had her article, "The Language of Loss: Modeling a Transformative Narrative of Grief," published in the Journal of Creativity in Mental Health. Terazawa's fictional narrative is based on the true experience of her undergraduate Fieldwork in Gerontology course at Longview, a senior retirement community with which Ithaca College has had a 15-year partnership.

As the journal's abstract describes, "Through its silences and suffering, the language of loss speaks through Jacob, a grieving widower, as the author compiles her field notes to make sense of his pain...[She] shares her perspective on helping the client cope with the death of his wife."

Terazawa explains how she got connected with 'Jacob': "My mentor, Bree Nash [Longview's recreation and volunteer coordinator], knew just the right person for me to connect with."

"Every week I met with a man who had just lost his wife," she continued. "'Jacob was a pseudonym, and the narrated interactions with his family were loosely based on my past experiences with grieving people in hospice. However, his visceral reactions, anger, and resentment were very real. Much of the dialogue and observations from our time together were taken directly from my weekly journal that I kept for [Professor Elizabeth Bergman's] fieldwork course."

Congratulations to Sophia Terazawa as she continues her journey in writing and the arts. She invites Ithaca College students and graduates to visit her website.