Food Psych Podcast with Christy Harrison

The Elusiveness of “Full Recovery” from Disordered Eating with Mallary Tenore Tarpley

Dec 11, 2025

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Journalist and professor Mallary Tenore Tarpley joins us to discuss her new book Slip and the realities of life in the middle of eating disorder recovery.

She shares how losing her mother as a young girl led to disordered eating, why residential treatment was beneficial (and not), and how the pressures of maintaining “full recovery” led to years of struggle.

Behind the paywall, Mallary and Christy discuss the many definitions of “full recovery,” the challenges of writing a book about disordered eating that’s honest without being activating, and how Mallary talks to her kids about food.

Heads up that Mallary’s book (and parts of our conversation) contain a frank discussion of eating disorders including some potentially triggering details.

This episode is cross-posted from our other podcast, Rethinking Wellness.

Mallary Tenore Tarpley is the author of the new memoir SLIP, which blends personal narrative, reportage, and research to offer up a new way of thinking about recovery as a "middle place" where slips happen but progress is always possible.

Mallary is a journalism and writing professor at the University of Texas at Austin's Moody College of Communication and McCombs School of Business. She frequently leads trainings on memoir and personal essay writing, and she gives talks and writes articles about topics such as eating disorders, recovery, and embracing imperfections.

A journalist by trade, Mallary’s recent work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, TIME Magazine, and Teen Vogue, among other publications. She lives outside of Austin with her husband and two young children.