Bouncing back: "I know what it is to have your dreams ripped out of your womb and your identity taken for a spin"

Beyond Chicago, General Interest, Health and Science, Social Justice, Winter 2016

Bouncing back: “I know what it is to have your dreams ripped out of your womb and your identity taken for a spin”

March 17, 2016

By Hannah Gebresilassie

Vunzai Yeazel, founder of Gorgeous Within and Live Bold Consulting, took a leap from corporate America after a decade when she was among about 100 employees laid off from Allstate. In the last few years, Yeazel, 35, bounced back from a failed marriage, two consecutive miscarriages, lost friendships and a surgery to remove five fibroids.

With an entrepreneurial spirit, Yeazel manages a couple business, freelances as a project manager and is a personal driver in her downtime. She takes us on a ride through her journey of overcoming obstacles from Zimbabwe to Chicago as she reunites with her girlfriends after four years of disappearing.

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Video: Vunzai tells her story and opens up about her journey from Zimbabwe to Chicago. (Hannah Gebresilassie/MEDILL)

Photo at top: Vunzai Yeazel, founder of Gorgeous Within, strives to “empower a generation of women to succeed and shape our world” through her company. (Courtesy of Vunzai Yeazel)