Listen:
What if the truest recovery story isn’t about redemption—but restoration? What if healing means learning to live inside the messy middle?
When I spoke with Mallary Tenore Tarpley—journalist, professor, and author of SLIP: Life in the Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery—I was deeply moved by her honesty about living, and writing, from that liminal space between illness and full recovery. So often, recovery stories are framed around the finish line: the triumphant “after.” But Mallary invites us into the during: the ongoing, imperfect, profoundly human process of healing.
In our conversation, we talk about how she balanced vulnerability with journalistic rigor, wove 175 interviews into a scene-driven narrative, and used recurring motifs and split chapters to mirror the nonlinear rhythm of recovery itself. We also explored the emotional ethics of revisiting treatment centers and journals without re-triggering harm—a delicate act of courage and craft.
This episode isn’t just about writing through illness; it’s about reclaiming your story while you’re still in it.
Content note: This episode discusses eating disorders, treatment, and grief.
In This Episode
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Restorative vs. redemptive narratives: why “progress, not finish lines” can offer a more truthful recovery arc
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Structure and symbolism: how Mallary used split chapters, recurring motifs, and dual timelines to mirror healing’s nonlinear path
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Weaving reporting into memoir: incorporating 175 interviews and scientific research into a scene-driven narrative
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Ethical revisitation: returning to treatment centers and old journals without re-engaging harmful behaviors
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Craft tools for memory: timelines, sensory anchors, and interviews with loved ones and clinicians
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About Mallary
Mallary Tenore Tarpley is a journalism and writing professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s Moody College of Communication and McCombs School of Business. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Time, and Teen Vogue, among other publications. She is the recipient of a prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant, which helped support her research and writing. Mallary graduated from Providence College and has a Master of Fine Arts in nonfiction writing from Goucher College. She lives outside of Austin, Texas, with her husband and two children. Slip is her first book.
Connect with Mallary
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About Estelle
Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist, author of Writing That Gets Noticed (named a “Best Book for Writers” by Poets & Writers), and host of Freelance Writing Direct—2025 Podcast of the Year (Education), American Writing Awards. A Contributing Editor for Writer’s Digest and adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP: The Magazine. She’s served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines.
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