Maria Bolmgreen Prang, 38, has told her story publicly after losing her father, her sister and her mother, and is now looking for a grief group in Odder.
Avisen Danmark reported on August 23, 2026 that Maria Bolmgreen Prang has lost her entire immediate family. Her father died of cancer several years ago, her sister was killed last summer, and her mother died around Easter this year.
According to the same reporting, her mother died relatively suddenly of an aggressive lung cancer detected only a couple of months earlier. Maria Bolmgreen Prang does not want to go into detail about the killing of her sister. She turned 38 in June, and says the absence of the usual birthday calls made her realize she is now the only one left.
Shortly after Easter, she moved with her daughter from Højbjerg to Odder. Staying in the town where her mother had lived, only a short walk away, had become too painful. She now lives with her boyfriend, who also has a daughter.
She describes a recurring fear of losing more people, including her partner, the two girls, or her own life. The fear typically arrives in the evening, once the children are asleep. She is seeing a psychologist, and says that crying, walking, even at night, and watching television help when the fear takes over.
Maria Bolmgreen Prang works as a pedagogue in a local nursery. She told Avisen Danmark that she feels she is living two lives, appearing cheerful at work while feeling shattered inside. Some days, she says, she has no extra energy at all.
Searching for the right grief group
She has attended a grief group at a church, but found that most participants were older people who had lost a spouse. Her account of several recent deaths in her family left the others visibly unsure how to react. She has since searched for other options, including through a local Odder group on Facebook, and has been signed up for a new group starting in the town.
Grief groups of this kind are listed nationally by Det Nationale Sorgcenter, whose Sorgvejviser covers offers across Denmark, including Odder Municipality. The center describes its groups as an option for people who have lost close relatives.
Guidance from 2024, published by Sundhed.dk in Patienthåndbogen, describes grief as a normal reaction to significant loss. It notes that strong emotional and physical reactions are common. It also advises contacting a doctor when grief continues to severely affect daily functioning, which can lead to a referral to a psychologist.
Per Avisen Danmark, Maria Bolmgreen Prang says she is speaking out to be the person she herself has been missing. She hopes to find calm and to allow herself to feel happy about the life she has, alongside the grief.
