# Motherhood & the Messy Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery with Mallary Tenore Tarpley

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/private-parts-unknown-sex-love-around-the-world-220056/motherhood-the-messy-middle-of-eating-disorder-recovery-with-mallary-tenore-tarpley
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/private-parts-unknown-sex-love-around-the-world-220056/motherhood-the-messy-middle-of-eating-disorder-recovery-with-mallary-tenore-tarpley.md
Podcast: [Private Parts Unknown: Sex & Love Around the World](https://stenobird.com/podcast/private-parts-unknown-sex-love-around-the-world-220056)
Published: 2026-04-08T12:30:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/claritaspod.com/measure/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/EDGY3494846635.mp3?updated=1775590899
Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/claritaspod.com/measure/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/EDGY3494846635.mp3?updated=1775590899
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/private-parts-unknown-sex-love-around-the-world-220056/episodes/motherhood-the-messy-middle-of-eating-disorder-recovery-with-mallary-tenore-tarpley
Duration seconds: 2199

## Resource

Save 10% on your next Fleshlight with promo code 10PRIVATE at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fleshlight.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. For the 254th episode of Private Parts Unknown, host Courtney Kocak welcomes writer, journalist, and professor Mallary Tenore Tarpley. Mallary is the author of Slip: Life in the Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery, and her work reframes recovery not as a clean, finished destination, but as a messy, ongoing “middle place” where progress and setbacks coexist. In this episode, we talk about how grief, control, and perfectionism shaped her eating disorder after losing her mother at a young age, what treatment actually looks like behind the scenes, the concept of normative discontent (the cultural reality that most of us struggle with our bodies), how slips can become opportunities for growth instead of shame spirals, and how she talks to her kids about food, bodies, and emotions in a way that breaks generational cycles. Plus, we dive into the complexities of pregnancy and postpartum recovery with an eating disorder history. For more from today's guest, Mallary Tenore Tarpley: Buy Mallary's book ⁠Slip: Life in the Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery⁠ Follow Mallary on Instagram @mallarytenoretarpley Subscribe to Mallary's Substack https://mallary.substack.com/welcome Get your copy of Girl Gone Wild from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bookshop.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Psst, Courtney has an 0nIyFan$, which is a horny way to support the show: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/cocopeepshow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Private Parts Unknown is a proud member of the Pleasure Podcast network. This episode is brought to you by: VB Health offers doctor-formulat…

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