Grieving Daughter Plans to Sprinkle Mother's Ashes on Christmas Dinner

Debra Parsons of Kent in the U.K. plans to eat her deceased mother on Christmas Day by sprinkling [...]

Debra Parsons of Kent in the U.K. plans to eat her deceased mother on Christmas Day by sprinkling her mother's ashes on her meal. She says the ashes have a "chalky, salty taste."

The 41-year-old plans to put her mother Doreen Brown's ashes on the Christmas turkey and pudding before eating it. She told The Mirror she's been eating a little bit of her mother each day since Brown's death in May.

Parsons says she does it to help her "cope."

"My mum and I had a really strong bond and one which could never be broken, even by death," Parsons told The Mirror. "She has been the one who has helped me through all the other ups and downs of my life and then suddenly she just wasn't there any more."

Parsons, who has two children, said she was "distraught" after her mother's death.

After Brown's body was cremated, she didn't think about sprinkling the ashes in a place her mother loved.

Brown's death came as a shock to Parsons, although she knew Brown was sick.

"I knew Mum was ill but never expected her to pass away when she did. So when she went I had that feeling of huge loss but also of regret over all the things that went unsaid and all the times we would miss in the future," Brown told The Mirror.

She decided to do something different because she thought scattering the ashes would be like "throwing her away."

Parsons told The Mirror that her two sisters did not know about her ritual before she came forward.

She described the taste of the ashes as "chalky" and "salty."

"Christmas has always been a really difficult time of year since the anniversary of my son's death is December 28 and as it gets close this year I feel the urge even more," Parsons told The Mirror. "Christmas is a special time of year when you want to be close to the ones you love the most and I feel the loss of those that aren't here more strongly now than ever. But I don't want to just eat the ashes on my fingers – I'd like my mum to be a part of the celebration this year so I will have her with my Christmas dinner."

Parsons said she will have a picture of her mother at the table. She also has the support of her fiance.

"I am lucky that my loved ones understand what I am doing," Parsons said. "And I know my mum would have been happy for me to do whatever I needed to get over no longer having her in my life."

Stories of people eating the ashes of the dead are not new. Back in 2011, TLC's My Strange Addiction included an episode about a woman who ate the ashes of her late husband.

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