Yesterday I Cried: Celebrating The Lessons Of Living And Loving [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Iyanla Vanzant (Author, Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1999

What is the lesson in abuse, neglect, abandonment, rejection?

What is the lesson when you lose someone you really love?

Just what are the lessons of life's hard times?

Bestselling author Iyanla Vanzant has had an amazing and difficult life -- one of great challenges that unmasked her wonderful gifts and led to wisdom gained. In this simple audiobook, she uses her own personal experiences to show how life's hardships can be re-languaged and re-visioned to become lessons that teach us as we grow, heal, and learn to love. The pain of the past does not have to be today's reality. Iyanla Vanzant is an example of how yesterday's tears become the seeds of today's hope, renewal, and strength.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Life is about cleaning up the crap and, while you're doing it, being okay with the fact that you have to do it.... A word of caution. You can't get caught up in the crap! If you do, you will surely lose sight of the real meaning of life and lose your Self."

Iyanla Vanzant knows plenty about dealing with just such "crap." She has led a difficult life, full of periods of abuse and self-loathing, but she has managed to learn "the lessons beneath the tears" and move beyond her grief and into understanding. In Yesterday, I Cried, she passes these lessons along, continually stressing that past hardships can and should be used to teach us how to grow, heal, and love others and ourselves. The message is one that has been echoed in her bestsellers One Day My Soul Just Opened Up and In the Meantime, but when presented as a memoir, the result is particularly moving.

As any regular Oprah viewer knows, Vanzant is a feisty and charismatic orator, and her no-nonsense style translates well into print. She is candid about her experiences without ever painting herself as a victim, effectively coming across as inspirational rather than preachy or self-pitying. The tone of the book is especially engaging because she seems to be actively working out her problems as she writes, gently pulling the reader into what becomes a mutual catharsis. "Of all things to master," she asks, "why did I have to pick tears?" By the end of Yesterday, I Cried, she finds the answer. And in searching the depths of her own soul, she encourages others to do the same. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

USA Today Iyanla Vanzant taps the universality of spiritual yearning. -- Review

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; Abridged edition (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671044451
• ISBN-13: 978-0671044459
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (115 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,234,602 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Books > Books on Cassette > Authors, A-Z > ( V ) > Vanzant, Iyanla

More About the Author

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.

To learn how Iyanla can help you get started on your journey toward spiritual

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully instructive, June 15, 2000

By 

MarvelousMarla "MarvyM" (Way down in Dixie) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Yesterday I Cried: Celebrating the Lessons of Living and Loving (Hardcover)

It took me a while to finish this book because of its sheer emotional impact. It starts with a wonderful poem that describes the shedding tears that had long been held back. Iyanla lays herself bare before her readers and revisits her coming of age. With the harsh life that this woman endured -- sexual abuse, teen pregnancy, spousal abuse, poverty -- it is amazing that she emerged with her sanity, let alone the ability to minister to others.

The author draws upon her experiences to show her audience how to look for lessons in life's unpleasantness. She showed us how her upbringing caused her to internalize some damaging messages from her cruel grandmother, absentee father and an array of abusive lovers. The author explains her transformation from the much-abused Rhonda, to Iyanla the Yoruba Priestess and acclaimed author. And she does it in such a way that the readers know that they too can transcend their circumstances.

I found myself in tears a couple of times while reading this book. Tears may sometimes be viewed as a sign of weakness, but this is a tome about strength and courage. I applaud Iyanla's courage and thank her for sharing her wisdom.

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE DAY I CRIED!, February 25, 2000

By 

"nubiandimples" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yesterday I Cried: Celebrating The Lessons Of Living And Loving (Audio Cassette)

I had heard about vanzant through a number of people. Even though at the time I was still a skeptic I went and got the audio version. I would listen to it around the house but after a couple of minutes I had to give Iyanla my full attention. It as if she had watch my my entire preteen life (being that I am 19). To make a long story short it was as if she was speaking directly to me. Iyanla made me really believe that even though thing were not good in the past don't mean they have to be that way in the future. After I finished crying with her I put the past in the past and went our and enrolled in college. I am now in the middle of my sophomore year and in a few years I will have a degree in accounting. Most importantly I will be able to prove a better life for my son. Thank you so much Iyanla for giving me the push I needed to go ahead and face who I was so that I can see who I can be. P.S. I am no longer a skeptic

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant - A must read for every woman, November 15, 1999

By 

Dana Joy (Alaska) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yesterday I Cried: Celebrating the Lessons of Living and Loving (Hardcover)

This book is breath taking. For Iyanla to go thru such trials in her life, it is truly amazing that she still exsist. Her strength and determination is a lesson for all. I was so moved by each chapter, at times I just held the book to my chest and sighed. A lesson in the hard knocks of life that everyone human being can learn from. Excellent, excellent, excellent. Iyanla has moved me to the very core of my soul. I have highlighted special excerpt that I can use to reflect on my daily situations. Just a very inspiring book and a must for all to read.