Iyanla Vanzant takes some of the survivors of the Orlando nightclub shooting on an emotional trip back to the venue on her show Fix My Life tonight — in a bid to help them finally begin the healing process.
The group were all inside the gay Pulse nightclub on June 12, 2016, when 29-year-old Omar Mateen killed 49 people and injured 53 others in the worst ever mass shooting by a single attacker in US history.
On tonight’s season finale of Fix My Life Iyanla speaks to six of the survivors, who are all struggling with the grieving process, and tells them: “It’s time for you, and the rest of the world, to heal.”
Some of the survivors she works with were severely injured in the shooting, including one man who was shot five times.
During the episode, Iyanla urges the survivors to acknowledge their pain and set aside their brave faces to help them with the healing process.
She says she deeply admires the community’s strength in the aftermath of the shooting, but she tells them: “I’m also hoping and praying that people don’t put on a strong face and crumble on the inside.
“Sometimes, it’s the acknowledging the weakness that leads to the breakthrough.”
The episode then shows the emotional trip back to the nightclub, which Iyanla hopes will allow the survivors to leave it again on their own terms in a bid to “reclaim” their lives.
While there Iyanla tells them: “You know what you’re leaving, you know what you’re claiming. That’s why we’re here.”
The episode also sees Iyanla talk to other members of the community to find out how the city as a whole is coping with the tragedy.
Iyanla: Fix My Life: Surviving the Pulse Nightclub airs tonight at 9/8c on OWN.