Yes, Girl!

A year ago, Iyanla Vanzant was a scheduled keynote speaker at Essence Festival. Then the unthinkable happened days before her appearance: she was fighting for her life due to a medical emergency. On July 1, Iyanla made a triumphant return to the daytime stage as an empowerment speaker – shouting hallelujah as she walked through the audience before delivering a stirring testimony about surviving, letting go and shining from within. As a Yes, Girl! treat, we’re sharing her full speech here; let Iyanla words feed your spirit. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.