I'm Oprah Winfrey. Welcome to Super Soul Conversations, the podcast. I believe that one of

the most valuable gifts you can give yourself is time, taking time to be more fully present.

Your journey to become more inspired and connected to the deeper world around us starts right

now.

Iyama Vanzant was born in Brooklyn in 1953. Actually, she was born with the name Ronda Harris,

more on that a little later. Her mother and alcoholic died when she was two, and she was

sent to live with her grandmother. Iyama says her childhood was filled with fear. She was

raped at age nine. She gave birth at age 14, and was a mother of three by the time she was 21.

But after she saw an ad for a local college while riding a bus, she enrolled and later ended

up going to law school. But after three years as a public defender in Philadelphia, Iyama felt

a higher calling. She became an ordained minister and published her first book, starting a new

career as an author, a relationship expert, and spiritual teacher.

You know, what we're trying to do with this network is actually the heart and soul of

what Super Soul Sunday is all about. And I am so honored to have you to be a part of that

because from day one, you understood that that's what I was trying to do.

Day one, I had every TV in the house all along. You said I was going to try to help you

birth this baby. And don't you think it's fortuitous that at this time in our lives, we

come together?

So let me just refresh everybody. Iyama was on our show back in the 90s. Iyama and Dr.

Phil started about the same time. Iyama decided to do her own show and she left. She'd come

to us and wanted to do a show. I wasn't ready. She was ready. You went and did your own show.

I went into the wonderfulness. Every time I think about you and I speak a lot about you

...