When we talk about eating disorder recovery, we tend to imagine two extremes: acutely ill or completely healed. You’re either in crisis or you’re “all better.”
But what about the space in between?
The messy, unglamorous, everyday middle place.
That’s where journalist and author Mallary Tenore Tarpley found herself — and it’s what her new book is about. She writes about living in that liminal space: no longer in “danger” the way she once was, but not walking around with a tidy “fully recovered” bow tied on top either.
We talk about:
- Why the “middle place” matters, and why so many people feel shame about being there.
- How grief and trauma can play into disordered eating.
- The role of perfectionism and control in shaping recovery.
- Navigating the challenges of motherhood while protecting her kids from body shame and diet culture.
- Why self-compassion and vulnerability are essential on this journey (and what the hell that actually means).
This episode challenges the binary of sick vs. recovered and makes space for a more honest, human version of recovery — one that allows for complexity, setbacks, and resilience.
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Podcast Cover Photography by Anya McInroy
Podcast Editing by Brian Walters
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Mallary Tenore Tarpley is a journalism professor at The University of Texas at Austin's School of Journalism and Media and McCombs School of Business, where she teaches writing and reporting courses for undergraduate and graduate students. Mallary's articles and essays have been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Dallas Morning News, The Tampa Bay Times, Teen Vogue, Harvard University’s Nieman Storyboard and more. She also maintains a weekly newsletter, Write at the Edge, where she shares writing tips and best practices. Mallary’s debut nonfiction book, “SLIP: Life in the Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery,” blends immersive reporting, emerging science and social history around eating disorders alongside Mallary’s own harrowing journey from a childhood with anorexia to her present-day reality as a mother in recovery.
Mallary's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mallarytenoretarpley/
Mallary's website: mallarytenoretarpley.com
Mallary's newsletter: mallary.substack.com
Find her book here