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Slip: Life in the Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery
Written by journalist and professor at the University of Texas-Austin Mallary Tenore Tarpley, Slip offers a groundbreaking framework for understanding eating disorder recovery and interweaves poignant personal stories, immersive reporting, and cutting-edge science.
When Mallary Tenore Tarpley lost her mother at eleven years old, she wanted to stop time. If growing up meant living without her mother, then she wanted to stay little forever. What started as small acts of food restriction soon turned into a full-blown eating disorder, and a year later, Tarpley was admitted to Boston’s Children’s Hospital. With honesty and grace, Slip chronicles Tarpley’s childhood struggles with anorexia to her present-day experiences grappling with recovery.
This book tells Tarpley’s story, but it also transcends her personal narrative. A journalist by trade, Tarpley interviewed and surveyed hundreds of patients, doctors, and researchers to provide a deeper understanding of eating disorder treatment. She draws on this original reporting, as well as cutting-edge science, to illuminate what has changed in the years since she was first diagnosed.
As Tarpley came to learn, “full recovery” from an eating disorder is complicated. And that idea provides the basis for the groundbreaking new framework explored in this that there is a “middle place” between sickness and full recovery, a place where slips are accepted as part of the process but progress is always possible.
With new insights and an uplifting message, Slip brings much-needed attention to an issue that affects many. It offers a beacon of hope with its revolutionary perspective on recovery. This inspiring and life-affirming book is a must-read for individuals with eating disorders, their loved ones, educators, medical professionals, and anyone seeking to understand eating disorders and the path to recovery.
When Mallary Tenore Tarpley lost her mother at eleven years old, she wanted to stop time. If growing up meant living without her mother, then she wanted to stay little forever. What started as small acts of food restriction soon turned into a full-blown eating disorder, and a year later, Tarpley was admitted to Boston’s Children’s Hospital. With honesty and grace, Slip chronicles Tarpley’s childhood struggles with anorexia to her present-day experiences grappling with recovery.
This book tells Tarpley’s story, but it also transcends her personal narrative. A journalist by trade, Tarpley interviewed and surveyed hundreds of patients, doctors, and researchers to provide a deeper understanding of eating disorder treatment. She draws on this original reporting, as well as cutting-edge science, to illuminate what has changed in the years since she was first diagnosed.
As Tarpley came to learn, “full recovery” from an eating disorder is complicated. And that idea provides the basis for the groundbreaking new framework explored in this that there is a “middle place” between sickness and full recovery, a place where slips are accepted as part of the process but progress is always possible.
With new insights and an uplifting message, Slip brings much-needed attention to an issue that affects many. It offers a beacon of hope with its revolutionary perspective on recovery. This inspiring and life-affirming book is a must-read for individuals with eating disorders, their loved ones, educators, medical professionals, and anyone seeking to understand eating disorders and the path to recovery.
368 pages, Hardcover
Published August 5, 2025
83 people are currently reading
2565 people want to read
About the author
Mallary Tenore Tarpley
2 books44 followersMallary Tenore is an assistant professor of practice at the University of Texas at Austin's School of Journalism and Media and the McCombs School of Business. She’s the author of "Slip: Life in the Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery," which explores the under-discussed complexities of eating disorders and recovery from them. The book will be published by Simon & Schuster, via its Simon Element imprint, in August 2025. While writing the book, Mallary received a generous grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to support her science-related reporting for Slip.
Previously, Mallary was the associate director of UT Austin’s Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, an international training and outreach center for journalists. Mallary oversaw the Center’s pioneering distance learning program, which has reached more than 300,000 people from 200 countries and territories. She also co-organized the Knight Center’s International Symposium on Online Journalism (ISOJ), which convenes journalists and media executives from around the world. Prior to UT Austin, Mallary was executive director the nonprofit Images & Voices of Hope (ivoh), where she developed a storytelling genre called Restorative Narrative — stories that show how people and communities are finding meaningful pathways forward in the aftermath of trauma. Mallary started her career at The Poynter Institute, a world-renowned journalism think tank. As managing editor of the Institute’s website, she wrote and edited stories about the media industry and interviewed hundreds of journalists and authors.
Mallary’s stories have been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Dallas Morning News, The Tampa Bay Times, Harvard University's Nieman Storyboard, and more. Mallary holds bachelor’s degrees from Providence College and a master’s of fine arts in nonfiction writing from Goucher College. She lives in the Austin area with her husband and two young children.
Previously, Mallary was the associate director of UT Austin’s Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, an international training and outreach center for journalists. Mallary oversaw the Center’s pioneering distance learning program, which has reached more than 300,000 people from 200 countries and territories. She also co-organized the Knight Center’s International Symposium on Online Journalism (ISOJ), which convenes journalists and media executives from around the world. Prior to UT Austin, Mallary was executive director the nonprofit Images & Voices of Hope (ivoh), where she developed a storytelling genre called Restorative Narrative — stories that show how people and communities are finding meaningful pathways forward in the aftermath of trauma. Mallary started her career at The Poynter Institute, a world-renowned journalism think tank. As managing editor of the Institute’s website, she wrote and edited stories about the media industry and interviewed hundreds of journalists and authors.
Mallary’s stories have been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Dallas Morning News, The Tampa Bay Times, Harvard University's Nieman Storyboard, and more. Mallary holds bachelor’s degrees from Providence College and a master’s of fine arts in nonfiction writing from Goucher College. She lives in the Austin area with her husband and two young children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
July 29, 2025
When Tarpley was eleven, her mother died—and Tarpley spiralled. What started as an effort to stop time turned into a long slog through anorexia, and even when she was well, "well" often felt tenuous.
My recovery has been messy and maddening, and it is not redemptive in the ways our society hopes illness narratives will be. On one end of the spectrum of how we talk about this disease, there is sickness. On the other, full recovery. I live my life in the in-between, in what I've come to call the middle place. It's the liminal space that many of us inhabit as we work our way toward wellness. And it's an alternative to black-and-white thinking that bifurcates the world into two halves without exploring the beautify in between. In the middle place, hope and hardship coexist, slips are expected, and progress is possible. (loc. 67*)
Tarpley is a journalist, and here she blends her own story with research into eating disorders, recovery, and that slippery and little-studied middle place. I'd hazard a non-scientific guess that a significant majority of people with eating disorders end up in this middle place, sometimes (often?) for years if not decades: well enough to function; well enough to "pass"; knowing at the same time that a small slip could send it all tumbling back down. Or it might not, and there's no real way to know ahead of time.
I'm here for the mix. As much as I love memoir, there's a depth here that would be hard to achieve from a single person's story. Tarpley is good about avoiding problematic details, but more to the point, she highlights places where research and treatment are just...lacking. In the eating-disorder field, there seem to be as many definitions of "full recovery" as there are studies about it. [...] Recovery rates, for instance, are shown to be anywhere from 57 to 94 percent for anorexia and 13 to 74 percent for bulimia. (Yes, you read that right.) (loc. 2426) There are a number of reasons for this, but if with just inconsistent definitions of recovery and wildly different study periods (can someone really be considered to have recovered from an eating disorder after just six months?), you lose the ability to effectively compare studies and treatments. Or consider this: When Dr. Maine was doing her dissertation on anorexia in the 1980s, she said there were three comically shortsighted criteria for recovery: weight restoration, return of menstruation, and (believe it or not) marriage. (loc. 3132) We've come a long way, but there's a ways yet to go.
A thoughtful and incisive look, and an excellent addition to the genre.
*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.
Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.
My recovery has been messy and maddening, and it is not redemptive in the ways our society hopes illness narratives will be. On one end of the spectrum of how we talk about this disease, there is sickness. On the other, full recovery. I live my life in the in-between, in what I've come to call the middle place. It's the liminal space that many of us inhabit as we work our way toward wellness. And it's an alternative to black-and-white thinking that bifurcates the world into two halves without exploring the beautify in between. In the middle place, hope and hardship coexist, slips are expected, and progress is possible. (loc. 67*)
Tarpley is a journalist, and here she blends her own story with research into eating disorders, recovery, and that slippery and little-studied middle place. I'd hazard a non-scientific guess that a significant majority of people with eating disorders end up in this middle place, sometimes (often?) for years if not decades: well enough to function; well enough to "pass"; knowing at the same time that a small slip could send it all tumbling back down. Or it might not, and there's no real way to know ahead of time.
I'm here for the mix. As much as I love memoir, there's a depth here that would be hard to achieve from a single person's story. Tarpley is good about avoiding problematic details, but more to the point, she highlights places where research and treatment are just...lacking. In the eating-disorder field, there seem to be as many definitions of "full recovery" as there are studies about it. [...] Recovery rates, for instance, are shown to be anywhere from 57 to 94 percent for anorexia and 13 to 74 percent for bulimia. (Yes, you read that right.) (loc. 2426) There are a number of reasons for this, but if with just inconsistent definitions of recovery and wildly different study periods (can someone really be considered to have recovered from an eating disorder after just six months?), you lose the ability to effectively compare studies and treatments. Or consider this: When Dr. Maine was doing her dissertation on anorexia in the 1980s, she said there were three comically shortsighted criteria for recovery: weight restoration, return of menstruation, and (believe it or not) marriage. (loc. 3132) We've come a long way, but there's a ways yet to go.
A thoughtful and incisive look, and an excellent addition to the genre.
*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.
Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.
September 26, 2025
Mallary Tenore Tarpley is a journalist who's lived with eating disorders and been on a recovery journey for much of her life. Her 2025 book Slip tells her personal story, as well as insights from interviews she conducted with others in recovery.
Tenore Tarpley began suffering from eating disorders in the mid-1990s as a preteen, shortly after her mother passed away from cancer. She spent prolonged periods of the subsequent years in inpatient facilities and in therapy, outwardly demonstrating recovery but inwardly still struggling with restriction, binging, overexercising, and other maladaptive habits. Even now, almost 30 years later, she recounts struggles, especially as a mother to two young children who she hopes don't follow in that path.
I found this book interesting, insightful, and very well-written. Though obviously no source is going to be comprehensive or universal on eating disorders or their recovery (as each illness and recovery journey is unique), I do think with the help of time and maturity, Tenore Tarpley has been able to sublimate her experiences into a narrative that'll help many others.
My statistics:
Book 297 for 2025
Book 2223 cumulatively
Tenore Tarpley began suffering from eating disorders in the mid-1990s as a preteen, shortly after her mother passed away from cancer. She spent prolonged periods of the subsequent years in inpatient facilities and in therapy, outwardly demonstrating recovery but inwardly still struggling with restriction, binging, overexercising, and other maladaptive habits. Even now, almost 30 years later, she recounts struggles, especially as a mother to two young children who she hopes don't follow in that path.
I found this book interesting, insightful, and very well-written. Though obviously no source is going to be comprehensive or universal on eating disorders or their recovery (as each illness and recovery journey is unique), I do think with the help of time and maturity, Tenore Tarpley has been able to sublimate her experiences into a narrative that'll help many others.
My statistics:
Book 297 for 2025
Book 2223 cumulatively
January 12, 2025
This is a phenomenal book and an essential addition to the literature on eating disorders. The author begins each chapter describing her own struggles with anorexia- as a child, a preteen, a teen, a young adult, a wife, a mother. After her own reminiscinces she includes reasearch and facts about anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating from both decades past and current studies. Very highly recommended to academics, physicians, and those struggling with eating disorders.
July 30, 2025
This was a great memoir. It was a perfect blend of experience and research, which many memoirs do not have. I loved how the author recognized experiences differ, especially among race, gender, and nationality, and included quotes and experiences from others. You can tell that this was a heavily researched memoir, which may have been difficult with the lacking research. Every young adult should read this one.
July 7, 2025
A must read for anyone who is struggling with or recovering from ED. As well as loved ones, family members, and doctors who are in the care of ED patients. I loved how the author highlights that most pediatric doctors usually write off ED because patients don't fit the description or symptoms. Also uncovering the fact that most doctors don't get proper training on ED is just very heartbreaking because as the statistics show most Eating Disorders start at a young age. As someone who had her ED written off as just a Gastrointestinal problem, it was just so validating to hear. My parents were trying to get me help but due to my pediatric doctor's lack of training and knowledge on ED, she was unable to see the signs of anxiety that was fueling my restriction of food intake. It took reading this book to fully understand the disorder I've struggled with since the age of 8, while also finding out the type of ED I am still recovering from (ARFID). And understanding how this disorder is more of a mental health disorder, but is not really labeled as such due to the physical illness it causes. I love how well the author took the time to do her research and gave not only her own experience, but others experiences, as well as insight from doctors who specialize in treating ED. I am so grateful to have stumbled across this book.
A huge thank you to NetGalley, Simon Element, S&S/Simon Element for my ARC!
A huge thank you to NetGalley, Simon Element, S&S/Simon Element for my ARC!
October 13, 2025
I thought this was excellent investigative reporting on eating disorders, the problems of treating them (in general, but especially to the point of full recovery), and the "middle place" most sufferers find themselves in when they are not acutely sick but also still fall back on a lot of their behaviors as coping mechanisms and don't see themselves as capable of recovering. The author starts each chapter with different stages of her life as she suffered through severe anorexia as a child and teenager before moving on to the "middle place" as a young adult, wife, and mother. The theme of each stage relates to a more general exploration of eating disorders and treatments, like longterm care facilities for children after we read about the author's stint at a behavioral health facility, how one diagnosis can morph and take on traits of other similar illnesses after we read about the author beginning to exhibit bingeing behaviors in college, and the lack of specialized treatment for pregnant women who suffer with eating disorders after we read about the author's pregnancies. I think all of the research and reporting that went into this book is so valuable, as it covers a myriad of often undiscussed topics through interviews with medical professionals, psychologists, researchers, and others in the eating disorder field as well as interviews with people who have struggled with eating disorders and with recovery. The author's own story is equally vital in illustrating these topics through a personalized lens, and even if her experience isn't always going to resonate with you for whatever reason, it still adds depth to the conversation and is helpful to see and understand her struggles.
March 5, 2025
A brilliant addition to the collection of eating disorder recovery books. With a mix of personal memoir and detailed reporting, Tenore vulnerably and accurately portrays the process of recovery.
December 14, 2025
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This is such an important book because it touches on something that isn’t often talked about in eating disorder recovery. The way there isn’t just a magic switch that flips on and says you’re all better now. It destigmatizes the slip ups that are inevitable in recovery and discusses how nonlinear recovery is so often.
On top of tackling such a difficult subject so well, this author has also managed to create a beautiful memoir narrative. This book would be great for fans of memoirs, even if they don’t have personal experience with the subject matter.
I love how the writing manages to be both science-based and deeply compelling. I learned so much about how eating disorders and recovery but it was done in such an accessible and interesting way. It’s a difficult balance with a book like this and Mallary absolutely knocked this out of the park. Beautiful!
This is such an important book because it touches on something that isn’t often talked about in eating disorder recovery. The way there isn’t just a magic switch that flips on and says you’re all better now. It destigmatizes the slip ups that are inevitable in recovery and discusses how nonlinear recovery is so often.
On top of tackling such a difficult subject so well, this author has also managed to create a beautiful memoir narrative. This book would be great for fans of memoirs, even if they don’t have personal experience with the subject matter.
I love how the writing manages to be both science-based and deeply compelling. I learned so much about how eating disorders and recovery but it was done in such an accessible and interesting way. It’s a difficult balance with a book like this and Mallary absolutely knocked this out of the park. Beautiful!
August 15, 2025
As someone who struggles with an eating disorder, this book is truly inspirational. It shows the ups and downs of the recovery process, which is not talked about enough. Recovery is not linear, and sometimes I forget that. This books gives a great perspective. There are so many aspects of the books that I relate to. It gives me hope for the future and my path towards recovery. Highly recommend!
September 9, 2025
I am so grateful that this book exists, and I love how much care went into creating it. I found it to be a highly effective blend of journalism/research, and Mallary‘s personal narrative. I learned so much about eating disorders and recovery journeys. What stood out the most for me was the idea of “the middle space” where “hope and hardship coexist, slips are expected, and progress is possible.” This definitely resonates with my experiences with chronic illness/autoimmunity/disability.
I hope many more readers will find this as a way to support their own health journeys, and/or as a reminder of the harms of diet culture/fat phobia. Any efforts we can make toward dismantling those pervasive ideas will be well worth it.
I highly recommend this book! It worked well both in print and on audio.
I hope many more readers will find this as a way to support their own health journeys, and/or as a reminder of the harms of diet culture/fat phobia. Any efforts we can make toward dismantling those pervasive ideas will be well worth it.
I highly recommend this book! It worked well both in print and on audio.
December 14, 2025
I learned so much. Grateful for the author’s reflection and expertise.
April 27, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is one of the best books on anorexia that I've read. I find it so important to talk about the "in the middle" aspect of recovery and I don't remember reading about this before.
I found Mallary's experience most interesting. The information on the therapy treatments was fascinating, especially when therapy and recovery involves the whole family.
This is one of the best books on anorexia that I've read. I find it so important to talk about the "in the middle" aspect of recovery and I don't remember reading about this before.
I found Mallary's experience most interesting. The information on the therapy treatments was fascinating, especially when therapy and recovery involves the whole family.
July 7, 2025
Full disclosure: I am proud to admit that the author is an old, very dear friend and we were roommates in college during some of the more intense episodes discussed in the memoir. As an early reader, I often found myself pausing and thinking, “I wish I could go back in time and give Mallary Tenore Tarpley a huge hug.” “Slip,” at its most basic, is a raw, honest examination of life with an eating disorder. But, it is also a story of hope, Faith, strength, perseverance and acceptance. Tenore Tarpley is a beautiful writer and expertly manages to weave her own memories, thoughts and opinions with scientific/medical research, facts and real case studies. Rather than getting bogged down in the negative and focusing on staying “stagnant” in the middle place of recovery- she highlights that this middle place is actually a form of recovery. It requires diligence and effort but it is vibrant, unique and worth recognizing. There is no shame in being in the middle place. Instead, Tenore Tarpley illuminates that a perfect recovery is not possible, and it’s not even the goal. Recovery looks different for every individual and with more research and attention focused on disordered eating, the chances of making it to the middle place are better than ever before. This book is bold, brave and a testament to the healing power of love.
November 30, 2025
I bought this book after hearing the author speak at a book festival and having myself been in recovery 10 years ago. While the beginning covering the time of the author leading up to treatment was pretty reminiscent of other memoirs I’ve read about eating disorders, in the second half of the book the author fills a couple of major gaps or hits some huge topics I haven’t seen other authors address, namely sexuality and eating disorders, raising kids while having an eating disorder, and the impact of self narratives about recovery. The latter of these I found the most personally thought provoking—making me ask myself how attached I am to my eating disorder being a part of me and how it might feel to identify with it less/what identifying with it strongly does for me still. My only two critiques of the book are that nearly half the book was not about being in the middle of eating disorders recovery but more about the development of her eating disorder and experience in treatment, so I wish more of the book was dedicated to these post treatment topics that are often underexplored. And secondly the authors definition in general of this middle area I felt often sounded very close to actively practicing eating disorder behaviors. Perhaps I just have a different personal definition of this middle space, where you are largely steady in your recovery (no behaviors, rarely thoughts) but certain specific situations bring up eating disorder thoughts/behaviors. This personal definition differed from the personal and other examples given by the author which sounded like much more like active stages of recovery (such as needing her husband to block the calorie counts on menus with his hands) or eating disorder behavior (bingeing late at night, attempts to lose weight through breast feeding) vs a more passive recovery of people further towards “full recovery” which I imagined as the middle space. I just personally don’t agree with the idea that anything post treatment is automatically this “middle space” or even necessarily recovery, as sometimes it’s just a different manifestation of one’s eating disorder.
September 6, 2025
I don't often write reviews and I hardly ever share about my 15+ year struggle with an eating disorder, but Mallary Tenore Tarpley's book spoke to me like no other eating disorder memoir I have read. She spoke to issues no one talks about - challenges with romantic relationships later in life, fear about passing down the disease to biological children, the silly habits we develop to compensate for eating, the toll eating disorders take on families, and how making small mistakes can force those of us who struggle into a tailspin. I'm not quite at the middle place - the spot in between sickness and what professionals like to call "fully recovered," but Mallary's anecdotes and dedicated research gave me hope. I highly recommend this book to professionals and especially family members of those who struggle with eating disorders or disordered eating. Most of us who struggle know when we are in the right frame of mind to read a book like this (and it is far from books like and that seem to trigger everyone I know), so please do so only when you are ready. I've lost too many friends to this disease and Mallary Tenore Tarpley's book will most definitely save lives.
November 9, 2025
I have never suffered from anorexia, but I did have binge eating tendencies in high school in college.
I can’t help but find all different kinds of eating disorders intensely fascinating from both the physical and psychological sides. I’ve never come across a memoir that was so scientifically based and discussed the messy middle bit of recovering from an eating disorder while currently being in it. I feel like we only ever see people in the thick of illness, recovered, or in much sadder cases, they didn’t make it.
I really, really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anybody who wants to understand eating disorders better, has someone in their life with Anorexia Nervosa, or is suffering themselves. There’s hope with being in the middle place!!
I can’t help but find all different kinds of eating disorders intensely fascinating from both the physical and psychological sides. I’ve never come across a memoir that was so scientifically based and discussed the messy middle bit of recovering from an eating disorder while currently being in it. I feel like we only ever see people in the thick of illness, recovered, or in much sadder cases, they didn’t make it.
I really, really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anybody who wants to understand eating disorders better, has someone in their life with Anorexia Nervosa, or is suffering themselves. There’s hope with being in the middle place!!
August 30, 2025
As both an eating disorder clinician and a dear friend of the author, I found SLIP to be unlike any other book on eating disorder recovery I’ve read. Tenore writes with honesty and vulnerability, sharing the depths of her own experience while providing hope to those who are still navigating recovery. She introduces a powerful new language - the “middle place” of recovery—an experience so many live in, yet we've never named.
Beyond her personal story, Tenore weaves in the voices of others, explores a range of treatment approaches, and presents the latest research on the etiology of eating disorders. Her work is comprehensive, inclusive, and deeply human.
I would love to see SLIP in the hands of anyone in the throes of recovery, those who support someone with an eating disorder, and every clinician working with this population. It’s a gift to the field—and to all who walk this path.
Beyond her personal story, Tenore weaves in the voices of others, explores a range of treatment approaches, and presents the latest research on the etiology of eating disorders. Her work is comprehensive, inclusive, and deeply human.
I would love to see SLIP in the hands of anyone in the throes of recovery, those who support someone with an eating disorder, and every clinician working with this population. It’s a gift to the field—and to all who walk this path.
September 1, 2025
Wow. To read someone's story of something I have little experience with and still take away so much from it - I applaud the author for how well researched this book is. I resonate with her term "the middle place" from a mental health standpoint, and the ending actually helped me unlock some truths about my life that I didn't even see coming. Brilliant read.
November 18, 2025
Slip is a beautifully written and deeply vulnerable exploration of what it means to live in the “middle place” of eating disorder recovery. Tarpley shares her own story with honesty while weaving in the voices of others, creating a compassionate and human portrait of recovery. I especially appreciated her framing of the “middle place” and her reminder that “slips” aren’t failures but natural, expected parts of moving forward.
June 24, 2025
I really liked this book - it’s half research/information based and half memoir. Each chapter starts with Mallary’s story - her journey through anorexia - the triggers, the treatment, the relapses. The second half of the chapter is more informative, educating about eating disorders, but heavy on the anorexia side. This book isn’t going to make you an expert on anorexia, and as clinicians we know this requires very specialized knowledge. But it’s good to have the knowledge. I also really like the chapters about the “middle place”, and I think this is good information even for just eating struggles or compulsive eating - it’s helpful to know it’s ok if we are just always somewhere in process; no need for perfection or some kind of end point. Just as long as you’re somewhere in the middle, it’s ok. I recommend this book for therapists, family & friends of those who struggle with eating disorders, or anyone who struggles with food. Great read.
October 3, 2025
I loved this and devoured it. I learned so much about eating disorders and really admire Mallary’s willingness to be open about her experiences. I loved the message that we are all living in the middle of “something.” I found it so applicable even though I have different struggles.
October 4, 2025
As an eating disorder clinician, I appreciate the exploration of the bio-psycho-social factors of ED development that often get overlooked!
December 13, 2025
Helpful for me as a coach of young female runners. Also helpful for me as a woman living in a body. No definitive answers, but having the conversation is important.
August 16, 2025
An engaging mix of research and memoir made even the difficult subject matter easy to read. Highly recommend!
August 28, 2025
Fascinating, eye-opening, and often heartbreaking account of living with an eating disorder. Slip dives into Mallary Tarpley's personal journey with anorexia nervosa and uncovers how treatment has evolved for eating disorders over the years. I've had a very skewed view of eating disorders, mostly knowing what I know from Disney shows and pop songs. However, seeing these real examples and the science behind it was super interesting. I wanted to hug young Mallary, and I'm so proud of adult Mallary. This is definitely a book and story worth reading.
October 14, 2025
I participated as an interviewee for this book. It's one of the most well-researched and honest looks at the "middle place" of recovery.
December 6, 2025
Beautifully written and deeply researched. As someone who had and eating disorder for many years, I resonated with many parts of this book and learned some new things too. Mallary did an incredible job and this is an important read for anyone who wants to understand eating disorder recovery.
April 21, 2025
Arc review. Okay I loved this book. I cried at the end because it’s one of those days and the ending was beautiful with the drawing from the author’s daughter.
I can relate in some ways to being in a middle place in my recovery. I’m not sure I feel quite as stable but I’m hopeful for my future. I loved the breaks her story and then to research and learning, there was hope in the research and in her story. After so long of struggling with an eating disorder sometimes I feel like I know everything, but there’s still many things I don’t know. Thanks to the author for sharing your story, showing there is hope even if you aren’t “recovered” and don’t know if you’ll ever move past the place of being in recovery. But being in recovery doesn’t have to define you,there’s still progress, but you realize there’s more about you, more about life than having an ED. I’m going to buy this book when it comes out for sure!
I can relate in some ways to being in a middle place in my recovery. I’m not sure I feel quite as stable but I’m hopeful for my future. I loved the breaks her story and then to research and learning, there was hope in the research and in her story. After so long of struggling with an eating disorder sometimes I feel like I know everything, but there’s still many things I don’t know. Thanks to the author for sharing your story, showing there is hope even if you aren’t “recovered” and don’t know if you’ll ever move past the place of being in recovery. But being in recovery doesn’t have to define you,there’s still progress, but you realize there’s more about you, more about life than having an ED. I’m going to buy this book when it comes out for sure!
June 26, 2025
**ARC review**
“In the middle place, hope and hardship coexist, slips are expected, and progress is possible.”
— Mallary Tenore Tarpley, Slip
I want to begin by saying this is not an easy read. If you are currently struggling with an eating disorder, or love someone who is, you may find parts of this book deeply difficult—I certainly did. I had to take multiple breaks just to get through it. Not because it was poorly written, far from it but because it was painful, raw, and honest.
Mallary, the story and truth you’ve captured in Slip are a gift. Thank you for sharing the intimate details of your illness and your journey, and for creating space for so many voices that are so often overlooked.
Eating disorders are criminally misunderstood by doctors, parents, friends, and the broader public. And yet, you’ve managed to make this story clear, accessible, and incredibly powerful. I applaud you for that. Thank you for the opportunity to read your story before its release.
This book masterfully blends memoir and research, weaving together lived experience with data and insight. At times, it felt purely personal like reading a memoir and in many ways, it is. Following your journey from adolescence into adulthood, through illness, slips, and recovery, and into what you call “the middle place,” was an honor.
You touch, beautifully and respectfully on so many subjects that impact those living with disordered eating and the mental health challenges that often accompany it. You portray the reality of anorexia not as the media so often presents it, but with grief, loss, love, confusion, and humanity. It’s a story that shows how young someone can be when these struggles begin—and how much courage it takes to keep going.
I don’t know you personally, but your mother was right: you were always meant to be a writer. I truly hope to read more from you in the future. I just know she would be incredibly proud not only of this book, but of the woman and mother you’ve become.
And I know it may feel scary to think of your children one day reading about your illness. But I believe all they’ll see is strength, love, and a fierce commitment to growth. They'll see the work it took to find your “middle place.”
Thank you again. It was truly a privilege to read this.
“In the middle place, hope and hardship coexist, slips are expected, and progress is possible.”
— Mallary Tenore Tarpley, Slip
I want to begin by saying this is not an easy read. If you are currently struggling with an eating disorder, or love someone who is, you may find parts of this book deeply difficult—I certainly did. I had to take multiple breaks just to get through it. Not because it was poorly written, far from it but because it was painful, raw, and honest.
Mallary, the story and truth you’ve captured in Slip are a gift. Thank you for sharing the intimate details of your illness and your journey, and for creating space for so many voices that are so often overlooked.
Eating disorders are criminally misunderstood by doctors, parents, friends, and the broader public. And yet, you’ve managed to make this story clear, accessible, and incredibly powerful. I applaud you for that. Thank you for the opportunity to read your story before its release.
This book masterfully blends memoir and research, weaving together lived experience with data and insight. At times, it felt purely personal like reading a memoir and in many ways, it is. Following your journey from adolescence into adulthood, through illness, slips, and recovery, and into what you call “the middle place,” was an honor.
You touch, beautifully and respectfully on so many subjects that impact those living with disordered eating and the mental health challenges that often accompany it. You portray the reality of anorexia not as the media so often presents it, but with grief, loss, love, confusion, and humanity. It’s a story that shows how young someone can be when these struggles begin—and how much courage it takes to keep going.
I don’t know you personally, but your mother was right: you were always meant to be a writer. I truly hope to read more from you in the future. I just know she would be incredibly proud not only of this book, but of the woman and mother you’ve become.
And I know it may feel scary to think of your children one day reading about your illness. But I believe all they’ll see is strength, love, and a fierce commitment to growth. They'll see the work it took to find your “middle place.”
Thank you again. It was truly a privilege to read this.
September 15, 2025
I would caution some readers in recovery that there were parts of this book I found triggering (as someone in recovery) - specifically the details about her stay residential treatment and some of her ED behaviors that she outlines. With that being said, and the challenges that came with that for me, I found this book incredibly validating. As someone living in the middle of recovery, this book affirms the normality and challenges of this period of recovery. The book was a fast read and the supporting data was fascinating and validating. The thing that left me feeling somewhat unsatisfied at the end though is that I was hoping there would be more practical advice for people living in the middle of recovery. While the author talks about what this phase in her recovery is like, and I left this book feeling seen, I didn’t leave it knowing how to make the middle of recovery any better, less painful, or faster.
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