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.

Iyana Van Zant was born in Brooklyn in 1953. Actually, she was born with the name Rhonda Harris.

More on that a little later. Her mother, an alcoholic, died when she was two, and she was sent to live with her grandmother.

Iyana 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, Iyana 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 on.

Oh.

You said I'm going to try to help you birth this baby.

Yeah.

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

we come together?

So let me just refresh everybody.

Yonla was on our show back in the 90s.

Yonla and Dr. Phil started about the same time.

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