The revised and expanded 20th-anniversary edition of Iyanla Vanzant’s first published work offers a powerful path to self-empowerment through the revitalization of one’s spiritual and ancestral roots. Written with Iyanla’s signature healing stories, this classic guide to uniting the will with the spirit teaches that only you have the power to make a change for the better. With chapters on basic breathing and meditation techniques, setting up a home altar, connecting with ancestors and guardian spirits, and the extraordinary power of forgiveness, this book is a perfect companion on the way toward the real you.
Known for teaching by principle and example, this exclusive edition also contains Iyanla’s special “What I Know Now” commentaries and an original CD. These tools will challenge you to stop struggling and start recognizing that it is possible to reconcile your humanity with your divinity. Whether you are a beginner on the path or a veteran in need of refreshment, Iyanla’s prescriptions can support your growth from the comfort of spiritual adolescence to the wisdom of spiritual maturity. You no longer need to settle for the way things are . . . you can open up to the way things can be—if you dare to tap the power within!
Iyanla Vanzant is the founder and executive director of Inner Visions International and the Inner Visions Institute for Spiritual Development. She is a Yoruba priestess and an ordained minister in Christian New Thought. The author of 13 titles—including five New York Times best sellers, and the Inner Visions Series of meditation tapes (Sounds True, 2002)—she is the former host of the television series Iyanla, and co-host on the NBC daytime reality show Starting Over as well. The proud grandmother of five currently resides in Maryland.
Product Details
Paperback: 312 pages
Publisher: Hay House; Pap/Com Ex edition (August 15, 2009)
With more than 8 million books in print, Iyanla Vanzant has truly established a dedicated fan base. Iyanla's path to success took her through a multitude of life-changing experiences that shaped the profound insights she eagerly shares with others. A neglected, overweight, sexually abused child who was shuttled from one family to another, she became a teenage mother on welfare living in the projects of a major urban city. Vanzant took control of her life when she walked out of her second abusive marriage and entered Medgar Evers College in New York and then the City University of New York Law School. She moved to Philadelphia with her children and became a public defender for three years. Then she eventually became an ordained minister, who was committed to a message based on the principles of divine power and self-determination.
Iyanla combined her professional skills with her life's lessons and embarked on a writing and speaking career. Her mass appeal is evident in her overwhelming success as an author. In the Meantime was a #1 New York Times bestseller, where it spent 20 weeks on the list, and she has had numerous other major bestsellers. As a nationally recognized speaker she has sold out such prestigious venues as New York's Jacob Javits Convention Center, Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, Atlanta's Civic Center, and the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles. Vanzant is also familiar to the daytime TV audience from her role as a regular contributor on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."
Acclaimed journalist and producer Barbara Walters recognized Vanzant's extraordinary appeal, seeing in her a "breakaway talent" with the potential for huge success in daytime television. With Walters and partner Bill Geddie on board to executive produce, Buena Vista Productions to develop the show, and Buena Vista Television as distributor, the road to Iyanla was forged.
Vanzant has received numerous accolades for her work. In 1992 Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley named October 21st "Tapping the Power Within Day" in honor of a workshop she presented in that city for African-American women. In 1994, the National Association of Equal Opportunity in Education, an organization comprised of the presidents and administrators of the 117 predominantly Black colleges in the United States named her Alumni of the Year. She also was awarded an "Oni" by the International Congress of Black Women as one of the nation's unsung heroes, and she served as the national spokesperson for Literacy Volunteers of America in 1998.
In 1999 she was listed among the 100 Most Influential African-Americans by Ebony magazine. Later that year, she was awarded the 31st NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Literary Work, Non-Fiction" for Yesterday I Cried. She also earned her first Honorary Doctorate degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, from the City University of New York, Medgar Evars College. In 2000, she earned her second honorary degree, Doctor of Divinity, from the Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition, Ebony has named her one of their "55 Most Intriguing People," Vibe magazine tabbed her one of "100 Leaders of the New Millennium" and Newsweek recently included her as one of the "Women of the New Century."
The mother of three and grandmother of four, Vanzant lives in Silver Spring, Maryland with her husband Adeyemi and Mr. Coco, their cat.
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I have had this book for a long time and decided to read it for the first time this summer and I want all the readers to know this is truly an inspirational book. it's one of Iyanla's earlier books it is raw but believe me I couldn't put it down. This book will make you sad, happy you will cry but most of all you will learn a lesson. I thoroughly enjoyed this book most of all I have all of her books but this one I feel is best of them all.
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The first page blew me away and then it continued. This is a truly inspiring book. The chapter on forgiveness was awesome and I am about to start releasing. Iyanla is one gifted sister and I thank her every day for sharing her gift and helping humankind to see that all is not lost if we fix ourselves first. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
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This book is a beautifully-written, honest, humble and insightful roadmap to self discovery, self-forgiveness, and self-empowerment. In this day and age of formulaic drivel, this author stands out as powerful, practical resource for living in vibrance. Ms. Vanzant shares deeply personal and often painful aspects of her past with the generous intention to heal the reader. Her sharp humor and poignancy make the read very easy. She gives specifics on how to connect with your power and making right choices, no vague greeting card nonsense here. Her style is easy to understand, and the wisdom and value is immediately apparent and accesible. She has that rare talent of making complex and subtle points seem effortless, clear and deceptively simple. This author is a true gem and the real deal. GET THIS BOOK NOW..don't let fear and procrastination talk you out of it. You CAN afford it. You are worth it. Invest in yourself and sow a seed into your life.
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