Finding Strength in the Middle Place: Between Acute Sickness and Full Eating Disorder Recovery

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August 25, 2025

An estimated 70 million people worldwide will struggle with an eating disorder in their lifetime. Many individuals experiencing these disorders can remain vulnerable throughout their lives, making permanent recovery feel elusive.

In this episode, author and professor Mallary Tenore Tarpley discusses eating disorder diagnoses and recovery, especially among middle-aged adults . She reframes recovery to emphasize progress over perfection, explores long-term health effects and shares her own experience navigating the “middle place.” The conversation also highlights the role social media can play, demographic disparities, diet culture and the importance of promoting health and well-being in the workplace.

SPEAKERS

Mallary Tenore Tarpley | Author, Slip: Life in the Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery, Professor, University of Texas, Austin

LuAnn Heinen | Business Group on Health

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Duration 42 min

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