Lauren Sánchez Shares Personal Story That Helped Inspire New Children’s Book: ‘The Journey Wasn’t Easy’ (Exclusive)

The former news anchor and philanthropist is adding to her resume and credits her career success, in part, to overcoming dyslexia thanks to a teacher

Lauren Sánchez can fly helicopters, she can report on a story live on-air (and win an Emmy doing it) and she can help raise money to fight climate change with fiancé Jeff Bezos.

Now, with the release of her first children's book, The Fy Who Flew to Space, Sánchez, 54, is adding author to her resume — and she's thrilled.

"Never in a million years did I think a dyslexic kid from Albuquerque would ever be an author," she tells PEOPLE in this week's issue.

"I'm so humbled by it, and I'm so thrilled my kids get to see me do this because they encouraged me to write this for years and I finally made it happen," says the mom of three. "The journey wasn't easy, but I'm really excited for people to meet Flynn the fly."

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The book, out on Sept. 10, follows the adventure of Flynn, a fly who doesn't necessarily do well in school but is curious about life and, while wandering around, accidentally gets stuck in the cockpit of a rocket that heads into space.

There, Flynn sees wonders beyond her imagination — and gets to learn a little about space and the Earth and why it needs to be protected, too.

Sánchez says the tale was inspired by her own life.

“I was flying with my kids and a fly somehow got into the cockpit of the plane. My kids were like, ‘Oh no, this poor little fly is separated from his family!’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know, she gets to see the world from a completely different perspective,' " Sánchez says.

"So that sparked this fun story in my mind, that even the smallest among us can experience incredible adventures," Sánchez says.

Related: Stories for Your Little Ones! Here Are 17 Celebrities Who Have Written Children's Books

While she is excited the book launch is finally here, she admits the new attention gives her slight butterflies.

"Having the spotlight on me is a little nerve-wracking," she says with a laugh. "I'd rather be on the other end. I'm very curious and I love asking questions. People are like, 'We haven't heard you talk in public much, and I'm like — but I was talking for 15 years on television!"

For nearly two decades, Sánchez was an on-air news anchor and entertainment journalist, appearing on KTLA, Extra and more, and she later started her own aviation company after learning to fly helicopters at age 40.

But for a long time, when she was growing up, she says she had no idea she'd amount to any of those things.

"I could barely keep a 2.0 GPA in high school,” she tells PEOPLE.

“I couldn’t read or spell, and I kind of thought maybe I'm just dumb,” she says. “I figured that was my lot in life. I’d always wanted to be a journalist, but I thought, ‘How can I — if I can’t even write?’”

Related: Lauren Sánchez, in 'Shattered Glass,' and Fiancé Jeff Bezos Make Their Met Gala Debut

Later, at college, a professor looked at an article Sánchez had written for the school paper and realized she was likely dyslexic. It was a revelation. Once the diagnosis was confirmed, Sánchez says everything changed.

"My GPA jumped to a 3.8 and I transferred to USC," she says. She studied journalism and when an offer came in from a local news station for a job that would just so happen to conflict with her studies, she leaped at the opportunity.

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“For a long time I was embarrassed I never graduated college,” she says. “But then one day my news director pulled me aside and was like, ‘Look you’re a reporter in the 17th market. That’s a big deal.’ So since then, I’ve owned my story.”

She hopes that such candor about overcoming a learning disability will inspire others.

Related: Jennifer Aniston Opens Up About Living with Dyslexia

"I think dyslexia has given me resilience," she says. "When you have dyslexia, you're so used to failing at things and it can be extremely humiliating. Especially as a young kid. But once you get through that, nothing can stop you."

She adds that it helps that she's always refused to be put in a box.

"People want to put you in a box," she says. "But we don't thrive in boxes. Life is about trying new things."

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