Johnathan Walker:Lauren Sánchez reveals how fiance Jeff Bezos and her kids inspired her children's book

Can you write a story about Lauren Sánchez without mentioning her very famous billionaire mogul of a fiancé?Johnathan Walker

Sánchez is an Emmy-winning journalist, a pilot, the owner of an aviation company, a mom of three, a philanthropist, and now a debut children’s author. Her new book, “The Fly Who Flew to Space” (32 pp, The Collective Book Studio) is out Sept. 10.

After her name, there is frequently only a comma and the description: the fiancé of Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon. While Sánchez was on TV in some way – either as a sports reporter, morning show host or journalist for more than two decades – it was this relationship that recently pushed her into the national spotlight.

Now she is often portrayed as a glamour girl – at the Met Gala in an Oscar de la Renta strapless gown, at the White House for a state dinner in an off-the-shoulder corset dress, or on what is likely the world’s largest yacht in a white crochet bikini. Sometimes the person portraying her this way is herself – on Instagram.

"As women, we can wear a lot of hats,” Sánchez, 54, says. “We don’t have to be put in a box.”

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Her Instagram feed also is filled with photos of her flying helicopters, on a stage at the Aspen Ideas: Climate conference, and celebrating graduations and birthdays with her children.

People see a very narrow view of you, she says in a call from Los Angeles, where she typically spends two weeks with her two youngest children, and then two in Miami when they are with their dad. She is about to start a book tour for “The Fly," a charming read with playful illustrations and a message every parent hopes their children receive: Anything is possible. Stay curious. Dream Big.

“If you look at people with an open heart, and really believe that people are multifaceted and can be anything they want, I think it changes the world,” she says. “Because we really are more than one thing or what the world wants to define us as.”

So what people think of her feels less important, but also “hopefully this is a chance for people to get to know me on a different level than just what they see in a magazine.”

Sánchez's story takes flight with a tiny bug in an airplane

Almost eight years ago, Sánchez was flying a plane with her children when they noticed a fly inside the cockpit.

“We all started imagining what kind of adventure that tiny little fly was on … flying way above the sky away from its family. It sparked this thought about how even the smallest creatures can embark on incredible journeys if they dare to explore. I didn’t really write it, I kind of imagined it,” she says, laughing. “It happened to me.”

The simple, unexpected moment made her think it could be a good children’s book. She toyed with the idea, typing notes into her phone with a fly named Flynn. And then she sort of let it go.

In 2021, she was stumped while writing goals for the upcoming year. That’s when her second oldest son, Evan, reminded her: “You’ve been talking about this children’s book forever, why don’t you write that?”

There is a little bit of Sánchez in the book. Or maybe a lot.

“Writing for me never came easy – even a children’s short story – it just wasn’t. I thought about it, pondered it, went back and forth. Is this right?” she says.

As a girl growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Sánchez struggled in school. She had dyslexia. This part of her story isn’t new. But now she is sharing something new: Her son Evan, 18, is also dyslexic.

“I felt really out of place in school. It was just difficult,” she says.

Watching her son struggle was worse.

“He was in second grade and he didn’t want to go to school. He was embarrassed. It was tough,” she says.

Recently she asked him if it was OK for her to talk about his dyslexia “because I can talk about mine,” she says. Instead, he told her, "I don’t mind, I hope it helps other kids.“

When talking about her children, Sánchez's voice often breaks, the way a mom’s voice does when she talks about her children's struggles and her own pride in their courage. The love is always present.

She hopes her story – and Evan’s – told through Flynn will help other kids. “I learned that embracing my curiosity and opening myself to new experiences, I could still achieve big things … things are possible,” she says.

When she wrote the book, she decided the fly should go higher than an airplane and go to space. She, of course, was more recently inspired by Bezos, who owns private space exploration company Blue Origin.

"Being around someone who is just so dedicated to pushing the boundaries in exploring the unknown is incredibly inspiring to all of us in the family," she says. "Our dinner conversations often revolve around space and innovation. He really just challenges us all to dream big. At the dinner table I was saying something and he said, 'No, dream bigger. Go bigger.' So it's not a surprise that some of that excitement found its way to Flynn's adventure."

She worked with illustrator Raleigh Stewart.

“Once Flynn was brought to life, it was a whole different story,” she says.

If the flies on page 2 look familiar, it’s because they are. Flynn's family is also hers. You’ll notice a very glam fly and one who looks just like Bezos, if a fly could look like him.

The book and illustrations were “really personal, even having to pick all of the flies with Raleigh, the characters in Flynn’s story are all inspired by my own family. Every single one of my kids is somehow represented in my book.”

She asked her children, Nikko Gonzalez, 23, Evan Whitesell, 18, and Ella Whitesell, 16, to find themselves. "Some of them were happy about it,' she says, and "some were like, are you kidding me mom, is that my fly?”

Curiosity leads Sánchez: 'Be curious, take chances'

Sánchez isn’t committing to writing another book yet. She’s focused on the environment, as the vice chair of the Bezos Earth Fund, which fights climate change.

If this was the year of her children's book. Next year, she says, is the year of learning Spanish.

Her book is also released in Spanish, something that was important to her. And there are a few tiny details that Latinos might notice, including the papel picado or paper banners at Flynn's home.

Publishing a book in Spanish and English "reflects the diverse multicultural world we live in today and the one I grew up in. ... Language can connect people,” she says. “For me, a way to celebrate and honor my culture and make sure every child feels seen and included."

She also saw the Spanish version of the book as a way to be accessible to more families, or to help families learn a new language together.

Sánchez didn't learn Spanish as a child, but has picked up some along the years. When she does speak, her accent is perfect central Mexico. Her mother spoke to her in English and Spanish, but says, "she didn’t want me to have an accent, she felt back then it was going to hurt me."

Now her kids all take Spanish. “And they speak better than me. They embrace it, they love it,” she says.

She plans to work with a tutor and become fluent, especially as she spends more time in Miami.

“I want to inspire kids to believe in themselves and their dreams no matter how big or small they are, no matter how tough they think school is. It’s really encouraging them to be curious, take chances and know they are amazing and adventures await you,” she says.

Like Flynn, Sánchez remains curious and open to the next adventure.