{"id":15946,"date":"2025-08-14T14:14:27","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T14:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/?p=15946"},"modified":"2025-08-14T14:20:41","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T14:20:41","slug":"mallary-tenore-tarpley-writing-about-eating-disorders-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/08\/14\/mallary-tenore-tarpley-writing-about-eating-disorders-recovery\/","title":{"rendered":"Mallary Tenore Tarpley on writing about eating disorders and navigating \u2018the middle\u2019 in recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">On the latest episode of the <a href=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.buzzsprout.com\/2449998\/episodes\">Nieman Storyboard podcast<\/a>, Storyboard Editor <a href=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/authors\/mark-armstrong\/\">Mark Armstrong<\/a> sits down with Storyboard contributor and author-journalist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mallarytenoretarpley.com\/\">Mallary Tenore Tarpley<\/a> to discuss her new book, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.simonandschuster.com\/books\/Slip\/Mallary-Tenore-Tarpley\/9781668035016\">\u201cSlip: Life in the Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>\u201cSlip\u201d is a reported memoir, with Tarpley recounting her own diagnosis and treatment for anorexia following the death of her mother from breast cancer when Tarpley was 11 years old. She talks about the process of writing and researching the book, revisiting spaces from her childhood, and confirming memories through interviews, medical records, and journals that had been stored for years in her father\u2019s attic.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-spacer mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<div style=\"height:39px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-html mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<div id=\"buzzsprout-player-17667699\"><\/div><script src=\"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/2449998\/episodes\/17667699-mallary-tenore-tarpley-on-writing-about-eating-disorders-and-navigating-the-messy-middle-in-recovery.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-17667699&#038;player=small\" type=\"text\/javascript\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>[ Follow us in <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/nieman-storyboard\/id1804505440\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/4cN4SOwf5Am05PoA9wckcA\">Spotify<\/a>, or your <a href=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.buzzsprout.com\/2449998\/episodes\">favorite podcast app<\/a>. ]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-spacer mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<div style=\"height:39px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>\u201c\u200aI&#8217;ve traveled so far in my recovery, and I still have a ways to go, but looking at those records reminded me of how far I have come,\u201d Tarpley said. \u201cThere were some lines that just haunted me and stood out to me that I knew had to be in the book. There was a nurse who had said that \u2018Mallary simply stopped growing physically and emotionally after her mother died.\u2019 Because it was my mother&#8217;s death that really spurred on the eating disorder. But lines like that really helped me to see other people&#8217;s impressions of me at the time, and all these entries \u2026 really helped corroborate memory and just make more of the details of my past come alive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Tarpley also talks about how she involved her family \u2014 including her father, who plays a crucial role \u2014 in the book, and how it can be difficult to accurately and sensitively tell stories about illness when recovery doesn&#8217;t always offer simple beginnings and endings. (\u201cThe middle\u201d is a recurring theme in the book.) Her reporting also reveals how treatment for eating disorders has evolved.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>In addition to her contributions to Storyboard, Tarpley is a journalism and writing professor at the University of Texas at Austin\u2019s Moody College of Communication and McCombs School of Business, and she writes a weekly newsletter, <a href=\"https:\/\/mallary.substack.com\/p\/welcome-to-write-at-the-edge\">Write at the Edge.<\/a><\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>For resources including screenings, treatments, and free-to-low-cost support for eating disorders, please visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationaleatingdisorders.org\/get-help\/\">National Eating Disorder Association<\/a> to get help.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Excerpts below are edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-image mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.simonandschuster.com\/books\/Slip\/Mallary-Tenore-Tarpley\/9781668035016\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/slip-mallary-tenore-tarpley-landscape-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15958\" style=\"width:758px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/slip-mallary-tenore-tarpley-landscape-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/slip-mallary-tenore-tarpley-landscape-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/slip-mallary-tenore-tarpley-landscape-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/slip-mallary-tenore-tarpley-landscape-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/slip-mallary-tenore-tarpley-landscape.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.simonandschuster.com\/books\/Slip\/Mallary-Tenore-Tarpley\/9781668035016\">&#8220;Slip&#8221;<\/a> by Mallary Tenore Tarpley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-heading   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">On \u2018slipping\u2019 and revisiting her own past:<\/h2>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-quote mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>\u200aSometimes places can inhabit our past, but that doesn&#8217;t mean they need to invade our present. That is an important motto that I carried through with me during this process. I&#8217;ll just say that there were times when I would be writing about something and I would find myself slipping.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>So I talk a lot in the book about just normalizing slips in the recovery process. And sometimes I had these moments where I could see myself slipping. There was this very real moment of slippage when I was writing about my experiences binge-eating in college, and I found that as I was writing about that experience, I ended up binge-eating. I thought, I need to be really careful that I don&#8217;t fall into this trap of reengaging in behaviors just for the sake of feeling like I can access those behaviors more and write about them in a clearer way.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>I needed to really try to recognize that about myself, that the eating disorder remains a vulnerability and that I could get into really risky territory if I let myself think that I needed to recreate these behaviors in order to write about them accurately. So that was something I had to be very cognizant about and also kind of give myself grace in those moments where I did have slips.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-heading   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">On the importance of \u2018the messy middle\u2019:<\/h2>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-quote mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>\u200aWhen I was in my late 20s, I was director of this very small nonprofit called Images and Voices of Hope. At the time, I was tasked with essentially helping journalists to tell what we called restorative narratives.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>These were stories that showed how people in communities were making meaningful pathways forward in the aftermath of illness or trauma or tragedy. And so often in media we hear about the trauma or tragedy, and then a lot of times we move on to the next story. Maybe we get a couple little follow-up stories sprinkled in, or maybe a journalist goes back and looks at the one-year anniversary of a particular trauma or tragedy, but so often those messy middles are overlooked.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Those sort of times [are] when people are trying to figure out: \u201cWhat does progress look like, and how do I navigate the day-to-day in the aftermath of something that just feels like it tore my whole world apart?\u201d Somewhere along the way\u2026 I recognized that this could be a really helpful framework for my own story, because for so long I had told people that I was fully recovered from my eating disorder. But in my late teens and throughout my 20s, I actually had been struggling quite a lot with the effects of a relapse, and yet I was too afraid to admit that narrative, and I didn&#8217;t really think that I could share that publicly, partly because so many of the narratives and books that we hear and see and read on eating disorders are written from the perspective of people who are fully recovered, such that it can make people who aren&#8217;t feel as though their narratives are either not worthy of being shared or not really safe to share, because it can feel very stigmatizing if you&#8217;re in this middle place.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>So I decided that I wanted to think about this restorative narrative framework and apply it to my own narrative, which is then when I came up with this term, the \u201cmiddle place.\u201d I am interviewing lots of people for the book, [and I] realized that there are so many people in this middle place. For so long, I thought I was the only person because I didn&#8217;t see others writing about it.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>But of the 700-plus people I surveyed who have lived experience with an eating disorder, 85% said they could relate to it. So there was something there. But there was a disconnect between the sort of populous nature of this place and the actual media coverage and literature that we see about eating disorders.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>In some ways [it] felt like an act of courage, too, because our society tends to prefer narratives with protagonists who prevail and who triumph over their disorders. But I really don&#8217;t like the tidy narrative. I&#8217;m much more drawn to these messy narratives because I think ultimately they&#8217;re more relatable. They help people feel seen and heard. And ultimately I think they can encourage other people to be more open and honest about where they&#8217;re actually at with their recovery.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-heading   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">On the language and definition of \u2018full recovery\u2019:<\/h2>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-quote mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>\u200aThe definitions are all over the map, which, from a research perspective, makes it really hard to compare data across studies. It&#8217;s also why it can be really difficult to say definitively that X percentage of people actually fully recover, because everyone&#8217;s definition of full recovery looks a little bit different. So that can certainly make it confusing, not just for researchers, but for people with lived experience who are trying to figure out: \u201cWhat does full recovery actually mean, especially when you live in a society like ours, which is really steeped in fatphobia and diet culture?\u201d There&#8217;s even this term called \u201cnormative discontent,\u201d which was coined by some researchers who found that the vast majority of people in our society have some level of discontent with [their] bodies.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>So when we know that that sort of is more the norm than the exception, what does that even mean then to fully recover? For me it was an indication that, one, we need a lot more language around recovery. We can&#8217;t have it be so black-and-white, which it very much has been in the eating disorder field where you&#8217;re either sick or you&#8217;re fully recovered. And two, we need to be able to give a voice to people in this place so that they don&#8217;t feel so ashamed and stigmatized.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-heading   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">On including her father in the process of creating the book:<\/h2>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-quote mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>The memoirist in me wanted to seek answers and to be able to empathize with him more. So I ended up talking with him and asking him questions about that experience. [I] asked tough questions like,<em> <\/em>\u201cWhy didn&#8217;t you recognize that I needed more care and love and attention during that time in our lives?\u201d And in hearing his side of the story, I could understand him a lot better. So I chose in that particular part of the book to actually frame it as a dialogue, so that the reader could hear my questions and my father&#8217;s responses. That felt like a way of being really fair and also helping my father to have a voice in the book.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Because I involved him so much in the process, when it came time for him to read the book, I think he felt like there weren&#8217;t any surprises, and he really liked the book. And that was important to me, to be able to share that initial draft with him.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-heading   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tarpley&#8217;s advice to other journalists:<\/h2>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-quote mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>\u200aWe just societally aren&#8217;t really accustomed to talking about the process of how we got to where we are. It&#8217;s much easier to simplify narratives over time and to just say, \u201cWell, I had this in the past, here&#8217;s what it looked like, but I&#8217;m better now.\u201d And we sometimes skirt over that middle part of the narrative.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>As journalists, we don&#8217;t necessarily always ask about that middle. We are more interested in the extremes, but it&#8217;s in that middle that we find meaning, and it&#8217;s in that middle that we can really get clarity around who someone is. Around what strength looks like for them. Around what hardship looks like for them. What resilience looks like.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>So I always encourage journalists to think about these questions of how did you get from point A to point B? Or what was that like? Or how do you describe your recovery? Or what were some of the small moments for you that illustrated recovery?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Very often we tend to think in more grandiose terms where we say, \u201cWhat was the turning point that led to your recovery?\u201d And for many of us with eating disorders and other mental health struggles, there was not necessarily one big turning point. Oftentimes it is just this slow accumulation of baby steps, but there are moments maybe that were pivotal in some way, shape, or form, and so being able to get a little bit more granular with our questioning and asking,<em> <\/em>\u201cTell me about a time when you recognized that you made a choice in service of recovery. What did that look like? Share the details of that with me. Walk me through that moment.\u201d And really trying to tighten our questioning and going deep so that we can understand more about the messiness.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-heading   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reading List: Authors, Books, and Stories Mentioned&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-list mb-4 list max-w-screen-full mx-auto pl-5 \">\n            \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.simonandschuster.com\/books\/Slip\/Mallary-Tenore-Tarpley\/9781668035016\">\u201cSlip: Life in the Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery\u201d<\/a> (Mallary Tenore Tarpley)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/authors\/mallary-tenore-tarpley\/\">Mallary Tenore Tarpley Nieman Storyboard archive<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goucher.edu\/learn\/graduate-programs\/mfa-in-nonfiction\/\">Goucher College low-residency MFA<\/a>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.simonandschuster.com\/books\/The-Night-of-the-Gun\/David-Carr\/9781416541530\">The Night of the Gun<\/a>\u201d (David Carr)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mallary.substack.com\/p\/welcome-to-write-at-the-edge\">Write at the Edge<\/a> (Mallary Tenore Tarpley&#8217;s newsletter)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/647407\/write-for-your-life-by-anna-quindlen\/\">Write for Your Life\u201d <\/a>(Anna Quindlen)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mallarytenoretarpley.com\/writing\">Other writing from Mallary Tenore Tarpley<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-heading   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Show Credits<\/h2>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-image mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.buzzsprout.com\/2449998\/episodes\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-1024x1024.png\" alt=\"Nieman Storyboard podcast\" class=\"wp-image-15145\" style=\"width:338px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-1536x1536.png 1536w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-2048x2048.png 2048w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-40x40.png 40w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-600x600.png 600w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-100x100.png 100w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-200x200.png 200w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-180x180.png 180w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-360x360.png 360w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-115x115.png 115w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Nieman-Storyboard-Podcast_Square-Logo-Sharp-A-230x230.png 230w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Hosted and produced by Mark Armstrong<br>Associate producer: Marina Leigh<br>Episode editor: Kelly Araja<br>Audience editor: Adriana Lacy<br>Promotional support: Ellen Tuttle<br>Operational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter Canova<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n      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Harvard<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">***<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"block block-subscribe full-width\">\n            <h2 class=\"subscribe-title\">Subscribe to Storyboard<\/h2>\n        \n            <div class=\"subscribe-content\">\n            <p>Get insights into the craft of journalism and storytelling in your inbox, delivered on Fridays.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    \n                <div class=\"subscribe-embed\">\n                            <div class=\"mt-5\">\n                 <div translate=\"no\" class='mailmunch-forms-widget-1154494'><\/div>\n\n                <\/div>\n               \n                    <\/div>\n    \n<\/div>    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p><\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The journalist and author reflects on the process of writing, researching, and reporting on her own life for her debut book, \u201cSlip\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":15947,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[443,7],"tags":[429,431,425,430],"topics":[],"authors":[442],"issue":[],"class_list":["post-15946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","category-5-questions","tag-books","tag-memoir","tag-podcasts","tag-publishing","authors-marina-leigh"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mallary Tenore Tarpley on writing about eating disorders and navigating \u2018the middle\u2019 in recovery - Nieman Storyboard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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