Helena von Zweigbergk about Marie Fredriksson in Cancerfonden’s magazine

In the Nr. 3 2020 issue of Cancerfonden’s magazine, Rädda Livet (Cancer Foundation, Save Life), author and journalist Helena von Zweigbergk writes a chronicle about her friend Marie Fredriksson, how she admires her way of dealing with the difficult.

The title is Strong, stubborn, warm Marie. Helena tells that in December 2019 she got a phone call from some newspaper or radio or TV program while she was on her way to a studio for recording the reading of a book she had written a long time ago. The caller wondered if she had heard that Marie Fredriksson passed away. Helena remembers the wording, ”passed away”. She knew what it meant, but couldn’t process. She asked „where?”, to pull herself together and push the call away. There was no way she could tell anything. She knew it would happen. Helena and Marie had seen each other not too long ago and that meeting is stored in Helena’s private innermost being. Still, the news was shocking for her.

When they met to talk about writing a book together, Marie had a strong desire: ”People need to know what it’s like to be part of such a thing I’ve been through,” she said with the eyes filled with tears. She could be in despair, have angry tears, but always wiped them away with determined hands, Helena says. Then came what felt like Marie’s constant mantra: ”But it gets better. You have to think positively. It gets better.”

Helena could look into Marie’s expressive eyes and wonder how she could emotionally deal with being invaded by the evil forces of brain cancer. Marie was a fighter, Helena always thought so and said that many times, and she is not the only one. Marie’s struggle was not only physical survival, but also mental. To never let go of hope. Helena thinks one can say that it ended unhappily physically, but not mentally. She thinks hope and light were with Marie all the way and Helena is glad for Marie’s sake, that she managed to keep it.

Another friend of Helena who suffered from severe cancer, but survived, told her that she felt unsuccessful because she didn’t feel enlightened or closer to life than before. That she just thought it was awful, that she was mostly angry and didn’t feel like an admirable fighter at all, even though of course she was.

According to Helena, few things require as much courage as starting to approach one’s own or a loved one’s end. She can really understand someone who doesn’t have the strength or maybe even wants to be stoic on the road. Then at some point you should be able to turn your attention completely inwards.

Thanks for the hint, Paula Cafiero Högström!

Memorial concerts for Marie Fredriksson in Östra Ljungby church

Svenska kyrkan, Klippans pastorat organized 2 concerts in memory of Marie Fredriksson on 8th March in Östra Ljungby church. Marie was born in Össjö, but she grew up in Östra Ljungby and never forgot her roots. People in Östra Ljungby have always been very proud of her. There are several in the church’s choir who went to school together with Marie and they felt they had to do something. Before they began to organize the concerts, they asked Marie’s family if it was OK. When hd.se asked they remembered Marie as a down-to-earth person and that she was always singing. She saw a piano, sat there and started playing and singing.

The first concert was held from 17:00, the next from 18:30. Soloist Carolina Söderman felt honored to sing in Marie’s home ground and she shares that the first time she was singing at a wedding was when she was 17 in 1994 and the song she sang from Marie was Ännu doftar kärlek. Carolina says Marie had heart and emotion in everything she sang.

Tickets (250-250) for the events got sold out in less than 24 hours 1 month ago. One ticket cost 100 SEK and all proceeds will be donated to Cancerfonden (Cancer Foundation).

Songs that were performed:

  1. Ett hus vid havet
  2. Den bästa dagen
  3. Ännu doftar kärlek
  4. När kärleken föds
  5. Sång till Marie
  6. Listen To Your Heart
  7. Efter stormen
  8. Sparvöga
  9. Tid för tystnad
  10. Där du andas
  11. Tro

At the 2 concerts 50,000 SEK was collected from the ticket sales and this fully goes to Cancerfonden. You can also donate money to Cancerfonden via their website. THIS collection goes until 15th March and already 56,330 SEK is collected related to this Östra Ljungby event. You can also use this bank account number for donations: SE0650000000052101012251 or donate to the local cancer foundation in your country.

Videos from the event: 1; 2;

 

Mass for Marie Fredriksson on World Cancer Day

Hedvig Eleonora church (Östermalm, Stockholm) organized 2 masses for Marie Fredriksson on 4th February, World Cancer Day. The first one was held from 18:00 to 19:15, the next from 20:00 to 21:15. They remembered Marie and her fantastic music on the masses where the church’s children and youth choirs, One Voice choir and the church’s musicians, deacons and priests took part. The masses were open to everyone with free entrance. The organizers collected money for Cancerfonden during the event.

1000 people fit in the church for one mass. There were 2 masses because of the huge interest.

HedvigPuls is a worship service with specially selected music themes, such as Avicii, Beyoncé, Laleh and Kent. For the fall of 2020 they planned to have a mass with Marie Fredriksson’s music, but when the sad news of her passing reached them, they chose to organize this on World Cancer Day instead.

The choirs sang Ännu doftar kärlek, Tro, Sparvöga, Längtan, Ett hus vid havet and It Must Have Been Love.

Hedvig Eleonora church’s bells were ringing the melody of Sparvöga for a week after Marie’s passing.

Pictures and instavideos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,

Videos: mass, Ännu doftar kärlek, Tro, Sparvöga, Längtan, Ett hus vid havet, It Must Have Been Love,

If you want to donate money to Cancerfonden, you can use this bank account number for donations: SE0650000000052101012251 or donate to the local cancer foundation in your country.