Review: Going Into 2026, Iyanla Vanzant Calls For An Inner Cleanse With New Book, ‘Spiritual Hygiene’
Log on to the internet any day of the week and you’re likely to find groups of Black people, from all corners of the diaspora, engaging in what I like […] The post Review: Going Into 2026, Iyanla Vanzant Calls For An Inner Cleanse With New Book, ‘Spiritual Hygiene’ appeared first on Essence.
Black News 
Atria Books 
By Veronica Wells ·Updated December 29, 2025 < /> Getting your Trinity Audio player ready… Log on to the internet any day of the week and you’re likely to find groups of Black people, from all corners of the diaspora, engaging in what I like to call the Cleanliness Olympics. It’s Black folk arguing about the proper Atria Books
“The truth that I had hurt my child did not destroy me,” she writes. “It delivered me. It lifted the veil of emotional dishonesty that I had unknowingly placed between my heart and hers.”
In Spiritual Hygiene, Vanzant is clear about the cost of neglecting your spiritual cleanliness. If you struggle with mental and emotional clutter, it might manifest as overthinking and overanalyzing, and as preparing for worst-case scenarios. She explains how the process of grieving. We believe it will overwhelm us, she writes. “We carry inherited beliefs that emotion is weakness,” Vanzant continues. “We don’t know how to hold space for pain without trying to fix it.” Rather than trying to change or end grief, she suggests we start viewing grieving as a sacred act. She shares that the process may terrify the ego, but it liberates the soul.
The end of Spiritual Hygiene reads like the beginning, with a reminder that healing is not something new to be discovered but rather something old, ancient and divine to be remembered. Vanzant’s work in this book is an invitation–with guides–to discard the distractions of this life: competition, aggression, and external validation. In doing so, we return to the truth of ourselves: our thoughts, emotions, our power, awareness, and spiritual integrity. It’s arduous work, but Spiritual Hygiene reminds us that it doesn’t have to be scary and with earnest and intention, we cannot fail.
TOPICS: Books grief health and wellness Iyanla Vanzant SpiritualityThe post Review: Going Into 2026, Iyanla Vanzant Calls For An Inner Cleanse With New Book, ‘Spiritual Hygiene’ appeared first on Essence.
