What Lauren Sánchez Has Shared About Her Learning Disability

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Long before Lauren Sánchez Bezos met her husband, Jeff Bezos, she was a TV journalist. However, despite her passion for this profession, Sánchez Bezos thought it might be out of reach. When Sánchez Bezos was a child, she had difficulty in school with reading and writing because of undiagnosed dyslexia. Since she wasn't receiving assistance to help her learn, the journalist and children's book author avoided participating in class. Sadly, the lack of a diagnosis impacted Sánchez Bezos' self-esteem. "When you feel dumb, you don't talk," Sánchez Bezos explained to ABC News in September 2024. "It's stressful, you're always living in this, 'I'm not good enough.'"

Fortunately, Sánchez Bezos met a college professor, Lori, who encouraged her to submit a piece for the school's paper. Sánchez Bezos has teared up in multiple interviews when she's told this story, since it completely changed how she thought of herself and her feelings of self-worth. "She's like, 'You're not dumb. You just can't spell.' And she got me tested for dyslexia," Sánchez Bezos informed "Good Morning America" in September 2024. Her grades improved, and she was well on the way to achieving her dream career. 

Decades later, when Sánchez Bezos became an author, she and Lori joyfully embraced when Lori came to one of her book signings. "Your belief in me changed my life," Sánchez Bezos remarked in a since-deleted Instagram post (via Daily Mail). "One person can make a world of difference." 

Lauren Sánchez Bezos has become an advocate for helping children get evaluated early for dyslexia. On October 8, 2025, she shared a childhood photo on Instagram for World Dyslexia Day. "It's not about effort or intelligence; it's how the brain handles language," the journalist and author explained. "Dyslexia sharpened my big-picture thinking and grit, then the right support changed everything."

Sánchez Bezos views dyslexia as a learning difference, rather than a disability. Beyond her own experiences, she knows what it's like to be a parent of a child with dyslexia. Sánchez Bezos has three kids, and her middle child, Evan Whitesell, was diagnosed much earlier. "He got diagnosed in second grade — huge difference — and he's thriving right now," Sánchez Bezos told "Good Morning America" in September 2024. At the time, Whitesell was finishing high school and planning to major in business at the University of Miami.

When writing her first book, "The Fly Who Flew to Space," Sánchez Bezos relied on her early difficulties in school to develop her main character and connect with her audience. In honor of the book's publication in September 2024, she also made a contribution to the International Dyslexia Association. "To anyone with dyslexia, I would give this advice: if you can get through the humiliation that you feel at first, nothing can stop you," Sánchez Bezos informed Publishers Weekly in August 2024.